West of the Moon
by Chalicewell
Summary: Our group is back, with someone causing trouble for all the vampires in LA. Can Mick and Beth find out what's happening and how to stop it? This takes place a few months after Night Moves.
1. Chapter 1

_**Mick and Beth take on a puzzle, with help from their vampire friends, and the subject is blood. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy~~~~~~**_

_**Disclaimer: I'll only do this once—I don't own anything except my love for Moonlight. **_

Chapter 1

He was hungry. His usual resources had failed him, and Gerald Stofsky was getting frantic. He worked over 24 hours on a project at the jet propulsion lab, ignoring his cravings. When he left work, he stopped at his normal blood supplier, only to find it locked and dark. This had never happened before and he was at a loss. Stofsky was solitary and didn't have much to do with the vampire community in Los Angeles. He knew there were other places to get blood, but had never paid attention to them. He'd also heard about some vampire clubs. He could get a meal there, but couldn't remember the names or where they were.

Now he was frightened. He'd waited too long and could feel the bloodlust coming on him. He always led a well-regulated life as a vampire, only interested in his work. He remembered the nightmare last year when he'd been run down and attacked that doctor. He thought he could take over as a sire, but was sadly mistaken. The rogue doctor was killed and he spent some uncomfortable time as a guest of the Cleaners.

Stofsky wandered the alleys near his supplier, wondering what to do. He could hear heartbeats nearby, and smell the humans. His fangs grew as he scented their blood. _NO, he couldn't_—he forced himself to walk the other direction, but now he could hear one heartbeat, tantalizingly near. He peered around a corner and saw a young man leaning against a wall, smoking a cigarette.

The vampire in him moved stealthily toward the human. He sniffed and there was no one else around. He seized the man, and dragged him further into the darkness. Instinct took over as he drank deeply, not noticing the slowing of the man's heart. Sated, Stofsky realized the human was dead, and he stumbled away in horror.

_Oh, no, no_. The Cleaners had warned him if there any further infractions, he would be executed. What could he do? He had a responsibility to keep the death from the humans, but if he called the Cleaners, they would surely blame him. He had no friend, no advocate. Wait. Who was that young vamp who was after the rogue doctor? James? St. James? No, it was St. John. Stofsky remembered staking him at the doctor's house. He imagined St. John wouldn't be too happy to hear from him, but it was either that or the Cleaners.

Stofsky took out his phone, found St. John's number and shakily dialed.

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Beth was due home any minute and he relished the thought. It had been over six months since she had become a vampire, and Mick could finally think about it without a twinge. After the ordeal of her turning and the Duvall's treachery, she had settled into her new life with only a few ripples. Having Beth in his life had made everything feel . . . . . normal.

She started to work at Kostan Industries, and soon became invaluable to Josef as a guardian of the vampire secret through her expertise with the web media. Beth was excited about her new responsibilities, and Mick was happy she was able to work from home frequently.

Mick's business had also taken a turn and he was now working investigations mostly for vampires in LA and across the country. The New York Council had been impressed with reports about his achievements and recommended him to Elders in other areas. Because he didn't want to be away from Beth for any extended time, he usually took her with him and she proved to be a valuable asset to his investigations.

As he was out of town more, Beth suggested he hire an off-site service to answer his office calls during the day. Josef was pleased that Mick was more visible in the vampire community, but Mick still tried to take as many cases for humans as he could, and had a soft spot for missing children and runaways. Now he heard Beth come into the loft and make her way to the office. "Hi, sweetheart." she said softly, coming around the desk.

He took her in his arms, pulling her down on his lap. He could never get enough of her and he nuzzled her neck. "Hey, yourself." He kissed her deeply and she melted into him. "How was your evening?" he asked

"Just a meeting with the marketing guys. I'll be able to finish my reports from home in the next couple of days." She enjoyed her job, and was glad to be doing something useful again. Since Mick owned the loft, Beth insisted on contributing to household expenses. She took the rest of her generous salary and had Josef invest it. Beth snuggled into Mick's embrace. She ran her hand down his shirt, loving the feel of his hard chest.

"I'm almost done." Mick said between kisses. His fangs nipped her and she responded with a low growl. Beth's fledgling days were behind her, but she always responded to Mick without reservation. She was busy trying to pull off his shirt when the office phone rang. "Ignore that." she ordered, squirming on his lap.

"Mmphhh." Mick said from under his shirt. He succeeded in getting up from the chair and depositing her on the desk as he pulled his shirt down, reaching for the phone.

"Now, stop!" He said with mock severity.

Beth continued to grin at him as he answered the call. "Mick St. John."

A tremulous male voice said, "_Mr. St. John? You probably don't remember me, but I was um, involved in the situation with that doctor being accidently turned last year."_

Mick frowned, "Who is this?"

"_Um, Gerald Stofsky. I—I need your help." _

Mick remembered the rocket scientist who staked him. "What's the problem?" Beth now leaned into the call

"_I'm afraid I've done something terrible._" he whispered. "_I couldn't help myself, I was so hungry—" _

"What did you do, Gerald?"

"_I killed him_." Stofsky replied. _"I didn't mean to . . ."_

"Where are you?"

"_I'm in an alley near Alameda and Loma." _

Mick scowled. "Have you called the Cleaners?"

"_No."_

"Well, don't. I'll be there in half an hour. In the meantime, stay out of sight and don't move." He hung up before Stofsky could say anything further.

Beth looked at him. "Gerald Stofsky killed someone? I wondered what happened to him. I thought the Cleaners might have . . . . " She trailed off.

Mick snorted. Stofsky was stupid and the Cleaners don't kill for that. I'm sure he was punished. He sounded desperate on the phone just now."

Beth hopped off the desk. "Let's go."

Mick glanced at her and knew there was no use arguing. Beth quickly gathered her things and hustled out the door. She noted that Mick looked grim as they parked a block away, walking stealthily to the area. Both of them could smell the blood, and came upon Stofsky huddled in a doorway.

"Gerald? Where's the body?" Mick asked harshly.

"Over here." He led them to a blood-soaked form, and Beth could feel Mick's anger at the waste of a human life. She could smell the fresh blood, but maintained control. She didn't need Mick to be worried about her as well.

Mick pulled out his phone. "I'm going to call the Cleaner. Beth, take Gerald to the car and wait for me, then we'll talk. I need to know what happened here."

Stofsky was shaking as he asked, "You mean you're not going to turn me over to them?"

"No, not yet." Mick replied. "Unless I find you did this on purpose, then all bets are off."

Beth could see Stofsky was petrified, and gave Mick a sidelong glance. She wanted to calm Stofsky and didn't want to leave Mick while he was upset. He felt her concern and said softly, "Don't worry, it'll be fine. I'll see you in a few minutes."

Beth nodded and tugged Stofsky's arm toward the Mercedes.

The Cleaners arrived up shortly after Mick's call. Annie jumped out of the van and saw him. "Hey, Mick, don't tell me this is yours?"

He shook his head. "No, it belongs to a client, and I have to go deal with him."

"What was it, an accident?"

"Yeah," Mick ran his hand through his hair. "that's what he says. If not, I'll be calling you. This kind of thing is bad for the community."

Annie nodded and directed her staff to begin the clean-up. She walked back over. "Say, how's your fledgling? Haven't seen you since that happened."

At the mention of Beth, Mick's face lit up with a smile. "She's fine. I never got to thank you for your help that night."

"No problem." Annie shrugged. "Bring her down to the club sometime; I'd like to meet her properly. See ya." Annie turned to the crew who were already packing up their equipment

Mick moved with vampire speed through the alleys to find the car. Beth was in the passenger's seat, with Stofsky cowering in the back. Mick turned to him. "Where do you live?"

"Just a few blocks away. I like being downtown and walking at night. An old habit I've never been able to break." Stofsky said shyly.

They followed his directions to an older building, and headed to the top floor. Stofsky must have some money, Beth surmised by the large living quarters. Mick kept his eyes on Stofsky, as if waiting for him to do something wrong. Beth remembered Stofsky had staked Mick and wondered how this meek vampire had the gumption. Maybe there was more to him than was apparent.

"Please," Stofsky said hesitating, "sit down."

Mick sat across from him and Beth on the arm of his chair. "All right Gerald, tell us what happened tonight."

Stofsky cleared his throat and played with his glasses. "I'd been working on a project, and ran into some problems. I ended up staying all day and night. I didn't realize how hungry I was, and when I stopped to pick up my supplies, they weren't there."

"What do you mean?" Beth asked.

"The store was locked up and the owners were gone."

Mick frowned. "Who handles this store? Vampires?"

"No," Stofsky replied. "They're humans, and have been running that supply house for about 10 years. Very reliable, I've never had a problem before."

"What are their names?"

"Let's see, they were and older couple, married, um, William and Irene . . . oh." Stofsky got up and rummaged through his desk. "I have a receipt here with all the information . . . here it is." Stofsky handed the paper to Mick, who scanned it and shoved it in his pocket.

"All right. You couldn't get any blood, so you attacked the nearest human."

"No, no," Stofsky wailed in anguish. 'it wasn't like that. I didn't mean to, I tried to walk away, but I couldn't help myself. I know I shouldn't have waited so long to feed, but I thought I could get my supply and it would be fine. I never feed on humans."

They could feel his real distress and Beth glanced at Mick. He went to the desk, and jotted down something on a paper. "Here," he handed it to Stofsky. "these are some other blood suppliers, a couple even deliver. We're going to check out what happened to your store. If they're closed, then you're not the only one who's out of a supplier."

Stofsky muttered his thanks, realizing he could have ended up dead at the Cleaner's hands.

"Don't let me hear anything like this again Gerald." Mick said darkly. He took Beth's arm and they left. On the way back, Mick put down the top and Beth nestled closer to Mick. She could tell he was still bothered by the evening's events.

"For a rocket scientist and a vampire, he doesn't have much common sense." She commented.

"No, I guess not." Mick replied absently.

"At least he stayed to make sure no one found the body. He could have just bolted and left a mess."

"At least he did something right." Mick put his arm around Beth "Can you check on those people with the store? Maybe something happened to them."

"Sure, as soon as we get back." Beth noticed they were driving up one of the canyons. "Where are we going?"

"I thought since it's such a beautiful night, we could go up to this little place I know that overlooks the city." He turned his head and gave her a little smile. "It's kind of romantic."

Her heart turned over when he looked at her like that. She loved it when he surprised her with sweet gestures. She leaned into Mick, enjoying the night.

TBC

_**Hope you liked the start, there's much more to come!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed. The site won't let me respond to some reviews, so I apologize to those I can't email. You are appreciated, too! I hope it gets fixed soon. **_

_**And for your reading enjoyment, this chapter is rated M.**_

Chapter 2

Simone sat back, rubbing her forehead. Too much coffee and too little sleep was giving her a headache. _Still,_ she sighed in satisfaction, _the party next week is going to be great_. Josef hadn't had a party at his mansion since her birthday. _The natives are getting restless,_ she thought with amusement. The LA vampires were used to Josef's extravagance with free-flowing freshies and Josef had been too busy lately to oblige. Since they were now officially engaged she had moved into Josef's house permanently, and they hadn't had much time for outside activities.

The party would provide the opportunity to introduce Simone to the community as Josef's fiancée. He had finally made the decision and proposed to her. Well, actually not really a proposal, more like—_how about it, babe_? Simone smiled to herself. Her response was just as casual—_sure, why not_? They'd spent the rest of the night celebrating their engagement in several rooms and on various pieces of furniture.

Simone reviewed the guest list. Even though it was primarily a vampire bash, select humans would be invited. The vampire community couldn't turn its collective nose up at having an assistant DA for Los Angeles attend. Simone smirked as she thought of Ben Talbot and how he was now considered "family." He and Megan Donnelly had been quite occupied with each other, even if they kept a low profile. Josef had revised his opinion and was cautiously optimistic he wouldn't have to throw Talbot in the tar pits.

Her phone rang and she knew it was Josef. "Hi, there."

"_Hi, doll. What are you up to?"_

"Just looking over the party plans again," Simone replied. "I think everything is set."

She heard him sigh_. "I just found out that delegations from New York, Rio, and Tokyo are coming."_

"Oh, why?"

"_The Council is meeting in LA to discuss how to help the Japanese vamps after the earthquake. LA is a midpoint location and as Elder, I have to play host." _

"It should be fine. Do you think there might be problems?"

"_No, I just wanted to have a fun party without politics and meetings." _ Josef grumbled.

"Oh come on, it won't be that bad. So when are you coming home?"

"_I'm almost done here. Why, do you need me for anything_ . . .?"

"I'll let you figure that out. I'm just sitting here all by myself, waiting for a sexy vampire to come home." Simone smiled as she heard a growl at the other end. "I think I'll be in bed, but it's so hot I can't imagine I'll be able to wear much. I bought something with black lace that's perfect for this weather. Too bad you're so busy . . ."

Josef's eyes turned and his mouth started to water for Simone's blood. Suddenly, he decided that the next conference call could wait. "_Change of plans_— _I'll be back soon. Why don't you turn on the air conditioning? I'll make sure you don't get too cold." _

"Hmmm. I'm sure you can." Simone said sexily. She hung up and headed upstairs. She knew Josef would be home and in their bed shortly. The danger of pushing a 400 year-old vampire to the edge excited her, and she loved thinking of new ways to drive him to distraction.

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Mick came into the loft, aware Beth was home. He never tired of seeing her there and knowing she was in his life. She was sitting cross-legged on the sofa with her laptop, and turned with the smile she reserved just for him. "Hi, baby." she said, putting down her computer and coming to him.

"What a nice homecoming." He said as he kissed her. She snaked her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him. He pulled her close, running his hands over her greedily. He moved his lips to her neck and Beth growled in return. She wrapped her hands in his hair and let the change take her, biting his lip with her fang. Mick groaned, and she swung one leg around him opening herself up to him. She shivered as his cool hands reached under her shirt. "I want you now." she breathed in his ear. In a second Mick threw her over his shoulder and dashed up the stairs at vampire speed.

Sometime later after quality time in the bedroom and shower, they refreshed themselves with some A-, and Mick poured them some wine. "Oh, I checked up on Gerald's blood suppliers, their name is Peterson." Beth said as she took her glass to the living room

Mick sat next to the fireplace. "What did you find out?"

"I tracked them to Cabo San Lucas, in Mexico. They said they were approached by a company that offered to buy them out and provide a retirement home free and clear."

Mick frowned at her.

"Yeah," she responded to his look, "sounds fishy to me, too."

"What's the company?"

Beth grabbed her forgotten computer. "It's called Advanced Medical Supply—a really generic name. Their website doesn't say much of anything, and there are no owners listed."

"What did the Peterson's say about them?"

"Just that they were approached by a man who presented an offer. They checked it out with a lawyer and the deal was genuine, so they took it." Beth moved to Mick's lap and laid her head on his shoulder. "They were surprised the store was closed. When I told them who I was, they agreed to fax me a copy of the agreement."

"That's good." Mick replied, content to have Beth lounge on him. "Why don't you ask Logan to help you look into this medical place? It may be nothing, but I don't see a legitimate company buying out a blood supplier for that kind of money."

Beth sat up slightly. "You think it's a vamp? Why, since the store is closed?"

"I don't know, but I want to find out."

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The room was dark and Ben Talbot turned in bed. Megan was in her freezer next door and he stretched luxuriously, touching the new marks on his neck. He still couldn't believe he was involved with a vampire. He almost felt like he was two different people—government official by day, and adventurous lover by night. Now he knew why Beth often looked tired when she worked for him.

He'd always had a plan for his life; college, law school, a high profile legal or government job, then political office. He never deviated from this goal, but now for the first time he plunged headlong into something he couldn't control. He tried to make sense of his feelings for Megan, and finally gave up. He couldn't fool himself anymore; it wasn't lust or the feel of the bite. She filled a need in him he didn't know was there, to belong completely to someone and have that person belong to him.

He started to doze when his cell phone rang. _Damn_, he thought, crawling out of bed to find the phone in his pants pocket. He slouched back to bed and answered.

"This is Talbot."

"_Ben, its Carl_." The police officer's voice was muted.

"Yes, Carl, what is it? Have they got you on nights again?"

"_Uh, yeah, I wanted to give you a heads-up. Ray Wilson has been released from custody."_

"What?" Ben said sharply, sitting up. "What happened?"

Carl coughed uncomfortably. "_That witness pulled out and won't testify. Without her, we don't have enough to hold him. Since it's the weekend your office might not call, but I knew you would want to hear." _

"Thanks, Carl. I'll get in touch with my people. Keep me posted, okay?" Ben hung up, and sat up in bed with his feet on the floor and his head in his hands, furious and upset.

In her freezer, Megan woke suddenly. Ben's blood stirring in her veins gave her a link with him, and right now she knew something was wrong. Popping the lid, she climbed out, putting on a silken robe. She came into the room noiselessly and saw Ben hunched over, anger and helplessness rolling off him. She admired his naked body for a moment, then made a little sound to alert him of her presence. He turned, "Oh, did I wake you?"

"No, I sensed something was wrong. What's happened?"

Ben pulled her down next to him, feeling the coldness from her body. It felt good and helped him focus. "I just heard a major killer has been released from jail. We had a witness, but now she's refused to testify. Without that, the police can't hold him and we can't prosecute."

"What did he do?"

"He's a serial killer, and a smart one. He goes after runaways, usually teens. The police had the profilers in, and everything pointed to him, but we had no hard evidence. At the last murder there was a witness, but she's young and scared of this guy. We promised protection, but I guess it was all too much for her. Now we're back to square one." Ben said, shaking his head.

Megan felt a surge of affection for him. Ben was so caring about victims of crimes and dedicated to catching the criminals. "How can you stop him?"

Ben shrugged. "We have to get solid evidence or have a witness and that means we have to wait until he kills again."

"Can't you watch him?"

Ben looked at her, smiling sadly. He moved them both back onto the bed so she could lie beside him. "I wish it was that easy. We don't have the manpower to watch him 24/7. He's even free to leave LA if he wants, and start up in another city. Also, if he finds out he's under police surveillance, he can claim harassment. These guys know all the tricks." Ben commented glumly.

Megan was silent for a few moments. "Would you accept help?"

He turned toward her. "Help? What do you mean?"

"Well," she said carefully, "I have access to some people who could follow him and see what he does and where he goes."

Ben looked at her sharply. "You mean vampires."

She nodded. "They wouldn't be seen and could watch him for you. It would be harder in the daytime, but it could be managed."

Ben laid back, lost in thought. "They would have to call the cops if they saw him doing anything suspicious. Like an anonymous tip." He looked at Megan for confirmation.

Megan warned, "They couldn't be witnesses, of course, but they could see who he's with and if there's anyone in danger."

"I'd have to brief them about Wilson's habits and hangouts." Ben said, warming to the idea. _Why not get help where you can_? He gave Megan a hug and put his arms around her. She sensed his relief and was happy she could help solve a problem.

"I'll have to run it by Josef, but I'm sure he'll cooperate. If you can—"

She was cut off as Ben turned and threw one leg over her, taking her mouth in a demanding kiss. He reached into her loosened robe cupping her breast, grazing her nipple and moved his mouth nipping her neck with blunt teeth. She growled, writhing beneath him as he rocked his hips into her, letting her feel his hardness against her. Moving to suckle her nipple, his fingers brushed her inner thigh, and he saw her silvered eyes and fangs. He slowly caressed her sensitive core then swiftly plunged two fingers into her, stroking upward. She had ten times his strength, but was helpless when he touched her like this. He continued until he felt her tightening, and then quickly moved over her, sinking in and thrusting quickly.

Megan knew she had already taken his blood tonight and as she peaked, she lifted her hand to her mouth to bite. Ben snatched it away, holding it down as he rasped, "Do it, Megan, I want it . . ." She felt his need and she came with a shattering climax puncturing his shoulder, tasting his blood on her tongue. Pleasure flooded his body and he bucked wildly as he spilled into her.

Ben caught his breath as Megan watched him with concern. "Are you all right?"

"Fine." He grinned at her. The sex and biting had him riding high on endorphins. "I'm better than fine. Can you stay a while?"

"Of course." Megan snuggled into Ben, not caring about his body heat. It had been so long since someone loved her and this human made her feel whole again.

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Emmaline Martin sat at her desk in the New York Council office. She looked up as Otto, her Vice-Council and sometime lover came in. "Did you find her?" Emmaline asked.

The tall, rangy vampire sighed an unneeded breath. "Yes, and she's not happy."

"But she'll do it.' Emmaline pressed.

"Yes, she's agreed to set aside the time to look at what's needed, but she'll have to come here." Otto sat down and raised his eyebrow at Emmaline. "Are you sure this is necessary? Remember the last time we called her it was almost more trouble than it was worth."

"I know, but we don't have much choice. I don't like the stories I'm hearing from the west coast, especially Seattle "

"I thought we were flying to LA tomorrow night for the Japan meeting?" Otto queried.

"Yes, but I want her to come out with us and meet Josef Kostan if she's going to be working in his region. We'll all fly out together." Emmaline looked at Otto meaningfully.

He sighed again. "I get it; you want to keep an eye on her."

"It would be for the best don't you think?" She responded.

TBC

_**There will be a lot happening in Los Angeles soon! Who is the mysterious vampire? She sounds like a problem . . . . **_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Thank you for the reviews and favorites for this story. You are all awesome! **_

Chapter 3

The next afternoon, Mick was in his office and Beth was out shopping for Josef's party. He scented someone familiar at the door, and realized with a start it was Guillermo. He opened the door and found his friend looking preoccupied.

"Hey, come on in." Mick moved aside to let him enter.

Guillermo eased into the office and looked around briefly. "Nice place." He commented without enthusiasm.

"Thanks." There was clearly something wrong. "Have a seat and tell me what's going on."

Guillermo sat heavily and looked Mick in the eye. "Did you hear what they're doing downtown?" Mick shook his head. "They've contracted with an outside company to handle all the morgue services for Los Angeles County. They're bringing in their own people to handle the prep and bodies."

"Why?" Mick frowned.

Guillermo shrugged. "Cheaper I guess. The county doesn't have to pay employees, so no benefits and less cost to run the department. It means I'm out of a job."

"Can't you work for the new guys?"

"No, they have their own employees, so Terrance and I are screwed. It's a good thing I found a place to live instead of bunking at the morgue or I'd be even worse off." Guillermo had recently moved into a small place near the county buildings.

"That's a shitty deal, man." Mick opened a desk drawer to get out a bottle of scotch and pour a couple of glasses. "Here. Are you okay for money?"

Guillermo took the glass and nodded, "I'm good. I only work because I like it." They both drank in silence for a minute. Guillermo continued, "I know I supplied you and a few others, and that's out. I'm going to have to find a new blood supply myself." He said ruefully.

Mick sat up. "You know, G, this is the second time in a week I've heard of blood supplies being cut off. Do you know the name of the company?" Beth was working with Logan to try to find some lead on Stofsky's store, but so far hadn't found anything.

"I don't remember, but they're from Seattle."

"Could you find out? I want to check up on these guys." Mick asked.

"Sure." Guillermo took a sip of his drink. "There's another reason I wanted to talk to you. I've been working in blood for so long; I have an idea about a business. I thought if we set up blood donation centers, y'know, around college campuses and offer good money, we could get the kids to donate. Besides Hearst and UCLA, there at least 10 other college campuses in greater LA." Now Guillermo was excited and seemed to be back to his old self. "We'd have to have a vamp to sample the blood to make sure it's okay, but otherwise we could have humans do the actual blood draws. It we have enough locations, the cost to vamps wouldn't be much more than it is now."

"It could work, but have you ever run a business before?"

Guillermo grinned. "Yeah, I ran a hotel in San Francisco during the gold rush. Man, the Barbary Coast was wild. The hotel was perfect for transient donors. Everyone was looking for a stake to start prospecting and the vamps paid well for blood."

Mick had no idea of Guillermo's background, except he was sired in the early 1800's. He never felt intimidated by Guillermo's age; although he always knew the scrub-clad vamp was at least a century older. "Sounds good, but you'll need financial backing, won't you?"

Guillermo shifted in his chair. "I can access The Fund, but I'd rather not deal with all those council geeks. Do you think Josef would be willing to put up the money?"

Mick thought a moment. "I don't see why not, you're local and he knows you. He'll probably want to see costs and where you want to set up the locations."

Guillermo sighed in relief. "No problem. I can work that up pretty fast, and I've already found a couple of places that might be good."

"Why don't you call Josef's office and set up an appointment after the party."

Guillermo snorted. "Yeah, Josef and his parties. I had to go rent a tux."

"Me too." Mick grimaced sympathetically. "The only good thing about it is I get to see Beth all dressed up. I never used to go, but I want her to get to know the community."

Guillermo smiled as he finished his drink. "You're a lucky man_, amigo_."

"That I am." Mick said, sitting back with contentment. Guillermo studied the other vampire. He'd known him for over 10 years but knew Mick was a private person, much like himself. Guillermo recognized demons when he saw them and didn't pry into the younger vamp's life. Now with Beth in the picture, Mick seemed more comfortable and Guillermo was happy for him.

He started to get up. "Guess I'll get started on the stuff Josef will need."

Mick rose and clapped Guillermo on the shoulder, "Glad you stopped by, man. We'll see you at the party. You going alone?"

Guillermo smirked, "Well I plan to get there alone, but then, who knows?"

Mick chuckled as he let his friend out. Turning back to his office, he became somber as he remembered about what was happening at the morgue. Was this a fluke or something serious? Should he call Josef or the Cleaners to find out about current blood suppliers? He didn't want to go into panic mode. After all, he only knew of the two situations. He looked at his watch, wondering when Beth would be home, then smiled at himself. He had come to rely on her, not only for making him whole, but also for her ability to see through a problem.

He pulled out his phone and sent a text. He didn't want to interrupt her girl time with Sofia, but suddenly he felt the need to be in contact.

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Sofia Harrison sat down gratefully in the upholstered booth at a cozy restaurant near the stores. Beth joined her, pushing their loaded bags to the end of the seat. "Wow, that was crazy." Sofia commented as she looked over the menu.

"Uh-huh." Beth responded, glad she brought a small thermos of blood in her large purse. Shopping was something she used to enjoy, but even in late afternoon the crowds of people and the sun made it more difficult. _Perhaps on-line shopping was the way to go . . . _

Sofia caught the waiter's attention and ordered a _tapas_ plate and both ordered red wine. When the drinks came, Beth unobtrusively added some blood, swirling it around then drinking.

Sofia watched. "Are you okay, Beth?"

"Yes, just needed a quick drink, what with the sun and things."

"Sorry, I really wanted you to come with me."

"Don't be silly, I love to shop and I needed a new dress, too."

Sofia's food arrived and Beth enjoyed her wine while Sofia ate. They had become closer since her turning and though the same age, she saw Sofia as a younger sister. Since Sofia was dating a vampire, they had that in common, too.

"I think our dresses are perfect." Sofia commented between bites. "I know I probably shouldn't have spent that much, but I wanted to look good for Ewan."

Beth smiled shrewdly. "I bet he wanted to buy your dress for you, right?"

"Yes, it was a struggle not to hurt his feelings". Sofia rolled her eyes. "I mean, I love all the things he does for me, but I can afford my own clothes. He's pretty old-fashioned and wants to take care of me."

Now it was Beth's turn to snicker. "Don't I know it. I thought Mick was bad and he grew up in the '50's. I can't imagine what it must be like with someone all those centuries old."

"Most of the time it's lovely. I was raised pretty traditionally and I enjoy being pampered once in a while. I sometimes have to remind Ewan I'm an independent woman. He takes it all with good grace." Sofia flushed a little when she thought of Ewan. He had taken her to Canada for a romantic trip. They finally consummated their bond and he had marked her after she insisted. Having known about vampires her whole life she knew what a relationship entailed. If she wanted to continue with Ewan, at some point she would have to make the ultimate decision but for now was content to just enjoy their time.

Sofia was brought out of her reverie by Beth's comment. "I guess our guys are a little old-fashioned, and it's nice, but we can't forget we're modern women who know how to kick butt."

Beth's cell rang, and she said. "Speaking of my delicate flower, there he is." She touched the screen to read the message from Mick and looked back at Sofia. "He wants to know when I'll be home. No rush, but he may have something on a case he's working on." Her eyes gleamed with excitement. She texted back a quick answer.

"You really like that stuff, don't you?" Sofia shook her head.

"Yes, I love the investigation part, and now that Mick doesn't have to worry that I'm going to get hurt, it's much more fun. My new senses help a lot, too."

"So you enjoy being a vampire?" Sofia questioned softly.

Beth looked at her with understanding. "I do. Maybe I wouldn't have chosen to be turned so soon, but that's the way it happened. You have to make your own decision in your own time." Beth said to Sofia's unasked question.

Sofia nodded. "I know. There's a lot to consider and Ewan isn't pressuring me. I'm taking it one day at a time for now."

"You'll figure it out." Beth said with certainty. They continued talking about their dresses and the upcoming party until Sofia needed to get home.

After being dropped off, Beth came into the loft, carrying the spoils of her shopping trip. She sensed Mick in his office and left the bags by the door. Mick heard her and came out, moving with vampire speed and picked her up, spinning her around, kissing her until she laughed with delight.

"Wow," she said, "it's a good thing I don't get dizzy anymore." She put her arms around his neck, kissing him gently. "What's the occasion?"

"I'm just glad you're home." he said grinning widely. Beth loved it when he smiled, and he seemed to be doing it more lately. "So," she said eagerly, "what's going on?"

Mick put Beth down on the sofa, then poured them both some fresh A- and sat down next to her. "Guillermo was here."

Beth raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I thought I smelled someone else. What did he want?"

Mick told her of the morgue take over and how Guillermo had to leave his job, as well as the idea for the new donation centers.

"I want to see if there's any connection with the morgue and the Stofsky business. It's too much of a coincidence." Beth said pensively.

"That's what I thought." Mick confirmed. "Did you hear anything from Logan about Stofsky's store?"

"No." Beth shook her head. "It's as convoluted as one of Josef's companies—a subsidiary of something that's a franchise of another and so on. It looks legit. I suppose I wouldn't be suspicious if it didn't have to do with this blood thing. I'll work with Logan to see if there's any link with the companies." Beth turned to Mick. "I do like G's idea of the donor centers. It's about time we get organized about our food supply."

Mick looked at her with approval; she took all of this in stride, accepting him and his world as her own. He leaned in and nuzzled her ear. "Hmmm," she almost purred. "It seems like you missed me, yes?"

"Yes." he responded, but remembering an earlier thought, pulled away from her. "I did have an idea." Beth looked at him archly. "No, not that, at least not yet." he smiled. "I know we've both been busy lately, but we can't forget your training."

Beth rolled her eyes. "Don't you think I'm able to defend myself?"

"In normal human circumstances, yes, but you're young as a vampire." She looked at him skeptically. "I don't mean every spare minute for training, but let's try to get out once a week and work on some things."

"All right." Beth liked going out in the night with Mick and she knew she could still use some guidance. "Now, what was that other thought you were having?" She flashed fang at him and sashayed over to the stairs.

Mick's fangs dropped in response and he quickly picked up their glasses and carried them to the sink. On his way he saw Beth's shopping bags near the door, and thought he'd tease her. He started to look in. "What's in here?"

From across the room, Beth moved at vampire speed, jumping up and sailing over the sofa, ending up between Mick and her bags before he could touch them. "Uh-uh, mister. Stay out of my stuff, that's my dress for the party and you don't get to see." She crossed her arms in front of her. "I guess I'm doing okay on my jumping anyway." she said smugly.

"Don't get too conceited, I still have 85 years on you." With that, he picked her up and zipped up the stairs at vampire speed laughing, her bags forgotten by the door.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Sofia got to her condo and as she looked down, there was a long thin box leaning against her door. She put down her shopping and picked it up. Inside was a peach-colored rose, her favorite, with a note.

_I wish you were holding me instead of this flower. I can't get away now,, but will see you at eight tomorrow night for the party. Josef wants us to come early for a drink before it gets crowded. _

_I can hardly wait to see how beautiful you will look, my beloved. Yours always, Ewan_

Sofia giggled to herself as she entered and put her purchases away. Ewan always knew how to make her feel special with his chivalrous ways. She hung up her dress and decided to call her mother. They usually spoke once a week, but lately she'd been lax in calling. Sofia also knew she needed to tell her mother about Ewan, as he had been asking to meet her mom. Sofia hoped her mother would understand and approve that her only child was dating a vampire.

TBC

_**Next, everyone is converging on LA and Josef's party ~~~~**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**I appreciate all who have read and reviewed, even if the site won't let me respond directly to some. A new character decided to take the spotlight, so there's just the start of Josef's party. Hope you enjoy ~~~~~~~**_

Chapter 4

The tall, dark-haired vampire walked purposefully through LaGuardia, her green eyes hidden by sunglasses. Dressed in a Chanel suit and Ferragamo heels, she ignored the glances she received from the crowded concourse and concentrated on finding the VIP lounge. She'd already flown half-way around the world and there was still another plane trip to get to Los Angeles. She knew there was a problem and she was the only one who could find out what it was. She grumbled about being dragged from her comfortable home, but she didn't mind so much—the Council paid well for her services.

Following her with her luggage were two young men, the latest acquisitions to her stable. They provided blood and fawning obedience, two things she had to have to survive. Finding the VIP lounge, she brushed past the concierge and entered. She turned to them, "You boys can leave the luggage here, and they'll watch it. Go get something to eat."

One of them said, "But, mistress, won't you be needing us?"

She patted him on the cheek. "How sweet. I'll be fine but you have to be at full strength for the long flight." They both nodded and scurried off to the nearest airport restaurant. She sighed. Such lovely boys, she hoped they would last longer than the previous pair. _Oh well_, she thought, _it's easy enough to find replacements_. Now she focused on the lounge, scenting the two vampires she was meeting. She nodded and moved toward them.

"Emmaline, how nice to see you." She said with patent insincerity.

The blond with black eyes smirked at the greeting. "Yes, so nice to see you as well, Natalya. You remember Otto." She indicated the tall, thin vampire next to her.

Natalya glanced at him, and smiled. "Of course." She didn't know how Emmaline put up with him; he was so bland and boring. They moved to a darkened corner, away from the windows and sat in comfortable chairs.

"You know what's going on in Seattle?" Emmaline queried.

"Yes." Natalya sighed. When she wasn't more forthcoming, Emmaline said, "Well? Is it hunters?"

"No, it's not."

Emmaline made a sound of irritation. "Natalya, we needed you here for your remarkable gifts. Please don't make me regret asking you."

"That's it, isn't it? You hate having to be obligated to me. I'm the only vampire that has psychic abilities so you call me when you're desperate; otherwise I'm avoided like the plague."

Otto said quickly, "You know that's not true. We just don't like disturbing you without good reason."

Natalya smiled inwardly. She loved drama and she had these two from the Council disturbed. At least Otto was, Emmaline was a blank wall and Natalya couldn't read her. The blond vamp was several hundred years older, and it annoyed her that Emmaline might be immune to her gifts. She had many clairvoyant talents, most of which the Council was unaware.

"All right," Natalya said reluctantly. "tell me what's been happening."

Emmaline glanced at Otto, who said, "We've heard from vamps in Seattle and Vancouver that their usual blood suppliers have been either bought out or closed down. Some vamps there keep freshies, but most rely on purchased blood. New stores have been opened, but they cost twice the price. Some of the local vampires can't afford it. They've applied to the Council for financial aid, and that's how we heard of the situation. We've been unable to find if this is some kind of attack on us by strangling our blood supply or if it's just a greedy person trying to squeeze money from the vampire population."

Natalya nodded. "I could only get small snatches of vision from home, which is why I needed to come over. I'm going to have to be on the plane, away from the distraction of all these humans. When can we leave?"

Emmaline checked her watch. "We should be able to board any minute. Where are your bags?" Just then, the two young men entered the lounge, coming up to the three vampires.

"Your pardon, mistress." He turned to bow to Emmaline and Otto. Natalya was pleased; she had trained them well. "They have taken your luggage to the jet and are ready for you at your convenience."

They boarded the private Council jet, and were in the air quickly. Natalya enjoyed the luxury after having to fly commercial from London. The two young men attended to her comfort and she sent them away with a smile. No matter what their real names were, she always called them Jekyll and Hyde, as she would call the next two in her service. They stayed for the pleasure she gave them when she took their blood. And this evening she would need it.

The vampire calling herself Natalya Ivanovich was not Russian, but born in a Germanic fiefdom some 450 years ago. Tall for a woman, she had green eyes and dark hair, not usually seen in that land. When her gift of second sight had been discovered, the only thing that saved her from being burned as a witch was her aristocratic family. None of the surrounding nobles wanted a witch for a bride, so she languished in her father's citadel. Her gifts told her she was destined for a special life, so she left her lands and unerringly found the woman who would be her sire. At twenty-three she was turned, never looking back.

Now, Natalya settled in comfortably and her eyes changed, but remained unfocused. "I see a viper, large and powerful with his coils around the city." Natalya said in a monotone. "He's squeezing them, playing with the vampires and has no care what happens to them. He is using them for money, and has gained power from his wealth. He is focused elsewhere; there is rage and revenge in his mind."

Emmaline leaned forward. "A name, do you have a name." She said softly.

"No, I cannot see him, he is moving, twisting out of my reach . . ." Natalya said fretfully. She sat up, eyes unseeing. "There could be slaughter, the vampires cannot stop themselves, they need blood . . . ."

She shook herself; her eyes still crystal but now focused. She gasped, "Hyde," and a wrist was presented to her. She sank her fangs in, drinking deeply. After a minute she was able to stop and gain control. "Thank you, dear boy." She said as she licked the wounds closed. Natalya seemed to regain her composure after her meal but still looked rather shaken.

"It is a vampire, then." Emmaline said decidedly.

"Yes," Natalya replied, "not too old, about 500 years. He is taking all the money he can out of Seattle and Vancouver with no regard for those of us there. All he cares about is revenge—he's been planning this for many years. To find him I will need to be closer to where is now." For all her affectations, she wanted to keep the vampire community safe and this villain needed to be stopped.

Otto leaned forward. "Do you know where he is going?"

"Yes, south. Los Angeles." Natalya responded.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The Kostan mansion was lighted and ready for the hordes to descend. Hale was in his element, directing caterers, florists, lighting and supervising the arrival of the evening's freshies, especially hired for the occasion. Valets were ready to park the numerous cars, and space was provided for the limos that would transport the vampire elite of LA.

Josef adjusted his cuffs and looked at the bathroom door where Simone had been holed up for the last hour. "Simone, I'm going downstairs." He called out to her.

"All right, I'll be down in a few." Her voice floated through the door.

Josef rolled his eyes. _Really, how long did it take to put on a dress and some jewelry? "_Don't forget everyone's coming early for a drink."

"I know, I'll be ready."

He shook head smiling as he made his way down the formal staircase. The party was set to start at 10 pm, but Josef had asked a few people to come early for a celebratory drink and to announce their engagement. He could see Hale in the front hall, talking to his security people. Even at a party, Josef was taking no chances on any problems with most of the vampire community at his house.

The representatives from the Councils would be attending the party, and then meet the following night. Josef was annoyed they were staying over and had to be invited. He had hoped they would be able to take care of their business before the festivities, but the New York contingent was delayed, waiting for a visitor from abroad. Josef grumbled to himself and went to find one of the freshies for a pre-party snack. No doubt her blood would be spiced with excitement about the upcoming event.

Mick and Beth left the loft and drove to Josef's house in the hills. They decided not to discuss the situation with the blood suppliers until after the party. Beth kept stealing glances at Mick, who was in his shirtsleeves, keeping his tuxedo jacket from getting wrinkled. He looked so sexy, she was having a hard time keeping her hands in her lap.

Mick saw her appraisal and said roughly, "You keep looking at me like that and we'll have to stop before we get to Josef's." Mick had also noted how beautiful Beth looked in a white, backless, iridescent gown. Now that she was a vampire, she didn't need a wrap to keep out the cold and her bare skin tantalized him.

"Hmmm, promises, promises." She purred. "I happy we managed to make it to the car; I'd better not press my luck."

"I'll give you a rain check on those naughty thoughts, baby." Mick said, his eyes flashing crystal.

Beth smiled to herself, knowing there would be payback later. Mick pulled up to the mansion and let the valet take the keys. He helped Beth out of the car and they were directed to the lounge. Josef was near the bar and greeted them.

"Well, I'm glad someone decided to show up." he said coming toward them. He looked at Beth appreciatively and kissed her cheek. "You are a vision, my dear." Beth smiled as Mick made a face. He went over to the bar and pour drinks for them and Beth said, "You guys look great in your tuxes." Beth had finally persuaded Mick to go to Josef's tailor for a custom-made tuxedo.

"Of course we do." Josef smirked. "At least you got Mr. Miami Vice out of the 80's and into something decent."

"Just because I went to a party once in a white suit . . ." Mick replied good naturedly.

Beth came up and ran her finger over the lapel of Mick's jacket. "I think Mick looks good in anything." She sniffed him appreciatively and he made a biting motion in return.

"All right, I'm getting nauseous over here." Josef commented.

Simone suddenly appeared at the door, smiling. "Sorry I'm a little late." She was breathtaking in a green gown, with an emerald and diamond necklace, and matching earrings. Josef had given her an emerald copy of her sapphire engagement ring so it would match her dress of the evening.

Simone hugged Beth and complimented her gown, then moved to Josef, kissing him softly. Josef looked at the door, scenting Ewan and Sofia. They came in greeting everyone, with Megan following.

Sofia smiled shyly at the group, and Ewan put his arm around her shoulders. Megan said, "Ben will be here later, he had to finish a brief for a case on Monday."

Josef made sure everyone had their choice of drink and said to the gathering. "I wanted you to come early so I could officially announce that Simone and I are engaged." He took Simone's hand and kissed it. Even with his friends, Josef wasn't going to go overboard with emotions. Simone beamed at him and the group responded with everyone congratulating and offering best wishes to the couple.

The women then gravitated to a window, and the men congregated around the bar. Josef poured more of his expensive single malt, ready to accept harassment from Mick and Ewan.

"I guess I'm the one who should be telling you not to get involved with a human?" Mick said jokingly.

"Yes, and when did you ever listen to me?" Josef snarked, taking a swallow.

"Humans are just fine Josef, as we both know." Ewan with mock severity.

"Hmmf." Snorted Josef. "Spoken by a vampire who is totally unprejudiced."

Both Mick and Ewan laughed and Josef tried to look insulted. "Well, I guess we were all human once—not that I want to go back there." He said glancing at Mick sharply.

Mick and Ewan were still smiling when the door opened and Ben Talbot came in, also impressive in a tux. Megan hurried to him, and he gave her a swift kiss on the cheek. "I'm so glad you got here early." They joined Josef, Mick and Ewan at the bar. Ben held out his hand to Josef. "Thanks for inviting me."

"You're welcome, Ben." Josef gave him a firm handshake, waiting to see if the human would back down. When he didn't budge, Josef let go with a grudging smile. "We just got together early for Simone and I to announce our engagement."

Ben hid his surprise. "Oh, then congratulations." He was still unsure of his place in the vampire community, and slightly uncomfortable with Josef. "I wanted to thank you for your help in the surveillance for Wilson. I know it's not your problem, but at least he won't be hurting anyone without us knowing."

Mick perked up at this. "What's going on?"

"Just keeping an eye on a scumbag for Ben." Josef responded. "We'll need your help, but right now the Cleaners have it covered."

"Who's the guy?" Mick asked.

Josef sipped his drink. "No business tonight. I'll fill you in later."

Ben realized he'd made a _faux pas._ "Sorry, I didn't mean to disrupt anything. I just wanted to say thanks." Megan looked at him and smiled encouragingly.

Hale slipped in the door and spoke quietly to Josef then left. "It appears the guests are starting to arrive." Josef said as he looked over at the ladies who were still talking. "I have to break up that gab-fest over there and Simone and I have to get on with the host duties." His eyes lingered on Simone, and she glanced over at him as he started for her.

"Come on gorgeous, time to sparkle for the guests." He turned to the others. "You're welcome to stay here until the crush is over." Josef prided himself on his parties, and was well-satisfied that this would be a good one.

TBC

_**Next, there will be lots going on at the party, so stay tuned ~~~~~~~~~**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Here's the party and thanks to all of you who have read and reviewed! **_

Chapter 5

Simone and Josef stood at the entrance to the ballroom and greeted the glitterati of vampire society as they entered, introducing her as his fiancée. Word had gone around the community that Simone was more than an exclusive, so she was accorded the proper respect. Not many vampires wanted to go against Josef Kostan. Now Josef and Simone looked around and the swarming multitude. _Nothing like free freshies and booze to bring out the crowds_. He'd hired extra young men and women to be available if the bottled blood was used up. Most of the guests were in the large ballroom, but some overflowed into the rest of the house and the pool area. A cool breeze kept them happy, along with the sub-zero air conditioning.

After a while, the crowds thinned out and Simone went to see to the food for the humans and Josef checked on the DJ who would provide the music. He would have preferred a live ensemble, but since it was primarily a vampire bash, he didn't need uninitiated human musicians seeing anything that might risk exposure. The DJ had worked for Josef on several occasions, and knew what kind of music kept a party lively.

The group left in the lounge drifted out after a while, with Megan taking Ben to the terrace, and Ewan and Sofia opting to stay in the lounge, while Mick and Beth strolled into the ballroom. Beth had never seen this part of the house and said, "I always wondered why Josef needed such a big place—now I know."

Mick grinned. "Yeah, it's easier to have the community in a private space rather than a hotel or somewhere." He glanced around. "It looks like half the vampires in LA are here tonight. I guess it's been a while since Josef's had a party." Mick turned to her, "Can you wait here a minute? I want to check on something."

She nodded, and he kissed her forehead and disappeared into the mob. Beth gazed around the room to see if there was anyone she knew. Through the crowd she saw Logan heading for the dance floor with a tall brunette. She stifled a smirk as she turned and ran straight into Gerald Stofsky. Attired in the requisite tuxedo, he seemed surprised to see her, too.

"Good evening, Ms. Turner." he said formally.

"Gerald, please call me Beth. I didn't know you attended these parties."

He cleared his throat and said, "Well, I don't usually but I lately I've thought I should be more involved in the community."

"That's a good idea." She responded. He looked so awkward and out of place, she asked, "Would you like to dance?" The music had started with tunes from the 1940's.

"Uh, well—"

"Come on, it'll be fun." She steered him out onto the floor and he tentatively held out his arms. She moved into them, thankful she had taken a dancing class when she was dating Josh. She was surprised when Stofsky guided her around the floor easily.

"You're a good dancer, Gerald." She swore he almost blushed

"Thank you. Beth. I just picked it up over the years." The music was upbeat and Beth found herself enjoying the dance.

The New York vampires arrived late and didn't get to greet Josef at the door. Traffic delayed them getting from LAX to their vamp-friendly hotel and to the party on time. Emmaline and Otto were worried about the upcoming meetings about the Japanese situation, as well as the problem in Seattle. Natalya was just bored. She was wearing a black sequined vintage gown from the 1930's with her hair swept up. It was retro, but she never cared about fashion as long as it looked good on her. She was gratified there were so many vampires milling around, it would be easy to find what she wanted.

Usually in a new place she looked for a younger vampire to keep at her beck and call. It satisfied her ego as well as her cravings. Jekyll and Hyde could supply blood and human sex, but Natalya needed a more _physical_ outlet—one she couldn't hurt. She preferred them under a hundred years old, they were easier to control. One of her powers was the ability to glamour or mesmerize humans and other vampires. It didn't always work, but the younger ones were the most susceptible. Being tall herself, she liked taller men and she spotted a handsome vamp with a human. She glanced around and saw Emmaline and Otto talking to some other guests. She quickly got out of sight and moved toward the couple. As she came closer, she scented that he was much older than she was, and immediately backed away.

She continued to search the mixture of human and vampires, discarding several prospects. Then she saw a tall, dark vampire and eased toward him. He was impressive with dark, smoldering looks and she scented that he was under a century. Confident in her superb beauty, she sidled up next to him. He didn't notice her as he scanned the dance floor, looking for someone.

"Hello." She said huskily, her glamour surrounding him.

Mick turned, gazing into her green eyes. For a moment he felt like he was drowning in her, before he remembered to reply. "Oh, hello."

Natalya was pleased. She could feel his confusion, making it much easier for her to dominate him. "Are you alone?"

"Uh no. I just . . ." Once again, Mick was at a loss for words. _What was wrong with him?_

She responded as if he hadn't spoken. "I'm a stranger here, but perhaps we could keep each other company." Natalya leaned into him, putting her hand on his arm. The invitation was clear, and Mick still stood frozen, fascinated. She could smell a younger female on him, but that didn't stop her. After all, she was much older and more powerful. She would have no trouble bending this one to her will. She looked him up and down with undisguised lust. Now she just had to find a secluded place and her evening would become much more enjoyable. She put her arm through his and turned to lead him out of the room.

"Natalya!" Emmaline's sharp voice behind her broke her concentration. She looked around to see the Council head frowning and felt the anger coming from her.

"What?" She said innocently. Mick shook his head and seemed to refocus, looking at Natalya and Emmaline in turn. "Hello." he said, recognizing Emmaline.

Emmaline smiled graciously. "Good evening, Mr. St. John. So glad to see you again. I believe Ms. Turner is finishing her dance over there if you were looking for her." She inclined her head toward the dance floor. "I need to speak with you, Natalya."

Mick excused himself quickly, sighting Beth talking to someone. As soon as he was gone, Emmaline said sharply, "Natalya, what did I tell you? You can't just pick up anyone who catches your fancy."

Natalya sniffed and made a face. :"I don't see why not? I'm bored and if I don't release some tension I won't be able to work. The young ones are so easily impressed."

"I don't care if you have a whole harem, just be careful who you choose. That man is Josef Kostan's best friend and the investigator who's looking into our problem."

Natalya's eyes lit up. "So, we'll be working together?" The prospect seemed to please her.

Emmaline hissed, "Yes, you'll be working together and that's all. I won't have you upsetting people out here. St. John has a possessive childe with an Indulgence from the Council. She wouldn't hesitate to use it to get rid of you."

"She wouldn't dare!" Natalya was affronted.

"I assure you, she would." Emmaline smiled wickedly. "I've dealt with her recently and she's not afraid of much." She sighed to herself. She knew she needed to placate the diva vampire or the effort to bring her here would be wasted. "Natalya, look around. There are so many men who would be happy to spend time with you. Let's have some refreshment and then you can meet Josef." The two women headed toward an alcove where the male freshies had gathered.

Mick finally found Beth coming off the dance floor, unexpectedly with Gerald Stofsky. When he saw Mick, he blanched, but Beth gave him an encouraging smile and said, "Thank you for the dance, Gerald." .

Stofsky looked up at Mick. "Ms. Turner was kind enough to invite me to dance."

Mick relaxed into a smile. "I'm glad you were able to entertain Beth while I was busy." The three moved toward the refreshment table. "I don't think you've been to one of Josef's parties before, correct?"

"No, but as I was telling . . . Beth, I thought it was time to get out more in the community. I don't really know many vampires."

Mick nodded and saw Logan coming toward them. "Gerald, how are you with computers?"

"I have to be up-to-date because of my job." Stofsky said, surprised. "I do indulge in the occasional game to relax."

Mick grabbed Logan and made introductions. Logan and Stofsky started discussing the various aspects of World of Warcraft while Mick and Beth slipped away. She led him out of the ballroom. Even with the air conditioning, the room seemed warm and they made their way out to one of the terraces.

"Don't you want to dance again, Beth?"

She smiled up at him. "In a little while. Now I just want to spend some time with you." He was so dashing in his tux, and she ran her fingers lightly over his cheek, then around his neck, pulling him down into a tender kiss. "My vampire." she whispered.

He murmured softly in her ear. "Forever, sweetheart."

Beth snuggled up against him but drew away, scenting something. "Mick, who were you with earlier?"

He looked amused. "Why?"

She just raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer.

Mick rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know. This vamp came up and started talking to me, but I don't really remember what she said. I was looking for you and didn't catch her name. Oh, then Emmaline Martin came by and I left to find you."

"Well, I trust Emmaline. I think." She said firmly, flicking a piece of lint off his jacket.

"And speaking of vamps, why were you dancing with Stofsky?"

"He was looking so miserable; I thought it would help."

Mick appeared skeptical, "I bet." He tried to keep a straight face, but broke into a chuckle as Beth made a face at him.

Mick put his arm around her waist as he heard the music from the ballroom. "Come on, I asked them to play this for us." He guided her toward the ballroom and they began to dance slowly to _Moon River_.

Ben and Megan were also dancing, with Ben looking extremely handsome in his tux. Megan noticed the looks from several of the female vamps in the room. This was Ben's first foray into vampire society and he was surprised to find it much like a human party with elegant men and women drinking and socializing. He saw the blood refreshments and asked Megan about the alcoves he thought were for sexual activity. Actually, she said they were for fresh feeding for Josef's guests who preferred it. He wasn't sure how he felt about that in general, but he could understand the appeal, if it felt anything like Megan's bite.

He leaned down to her ear. "It seems Josef and Simone are happy."

"Yes," she replied. "Simone is right for Josef; she keeps him on his toes."

Ben digested this for a moment. "I had no idea they were that serious. Do you think he'll turn her? Does she want that?"

"I've never asked her, but I'm sure Simone is devoted to Josef." She saw Ben was pensive and moved them off the dance floor. They sat at one of the small tables, away from the noise. "It's a serious commitment to make. Forever is a long time and being alone makes it seem longer. You try to find someone along the way to ease the loneliness. For a long while I had my sire, but he's been gone many years. Ewan was off wandering and I didn't want to be a burden. I buried myself working at the vineyards, then with the Council."

Ben knew the story of Megan's sire and his death. He put his hand over hers.

"I think Josef was like that until he met Simone." She continued.

Ben squeezed Megan's hand. "I know how he feels. I've been doing that my whole life. Always the eye on the goal, have to get ahead, be number one. I think since I came into your world I'm realizing some of those things aren't as important as I once thought." He smiled at Megan, and she felt his surge of emotion. Ben had never said he loved her, but she could taste it in his blood. It was enough for now, they had plenty of time.

"Come on," she said, standing up. "I'd like some champagne." She took his arm and they headed toward the end of the room.

In the far alcove, Emmaline and Natalya finished with their donor meals, complimenting Josef's choice of young men available. After a quick lipstick repair, they surveyed the ballroom with couples dancing and Emmaline spotted Josef. He saw Emmaline and came over to join them.

"Josef Kostan, please meet Natalya Ivanovich. She's a special investigator that's come out to help with a problem."

Josef looked surprised, but said smoothly, "I'm happy to meet you, madam." Sensing she was about his age and from the old world, he kissed her hand.

"Thank you." She said in a rich voice. Josef was too old for her, but she was delighted with his manners and attention. Suddenly, before he released her hand, she felt a shock pass between them, and she held on tighter. Her eyes went crystal and unfocused.

"It's you," she gasped. "You're the one he's after . . . ."

TBC

_**Next, the party continues, but what will the LA vampires find out about a threat to their community.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Sorry for the long hiatus. Summer vacation and RL have been keeping me busy. Here is the finish to the party, and a glimpse of the bad guy. Thanks for sticking with the story ~~~~**_

Chapter 6

Josef pulled his hand back and looked at the stranger warily. "What do you mean?"

Emmaline drew Josef further away from the crowd, with Natalya following. "Do you have somewhere private?" Emmaline asked in a low tone.

"Yes, of course." Josef led them out of the ballroom to his office. After the door was closed on the two women, he turned. "All right, what's this about?"

Emmaline sighed. "I don't believe you're familiar with Natalya's gifts. She has some psychic abilities." Emmaline glanced sharply at Natalya, silencing her. "We've heard from Seattle and Vancouver that blood suppliers have been bought out and new owners have been gouging the vamps there for twice the price."

Josef was still puzzled. "What's that have to do with me?"

Natalya overrode Emmaline to speak. "I saw someone with rage and revenge on his mind, focused on Los Angeles. He's been waiting many years and is finally able to get what he wants. I came here to get closer to him, and try to find out what he's doing." Natalya turned her green eyes on his. "He's after you, Mr. Kostan. Someone from your past, someone you wronged."

Josef wasn't sure if he believed this vampire who was warning him so dramatically. He shrugged. "I've wronged a lot of people, it goes with the business."

"Don't take it so lightly." Natalya said, slightly angry he didn't believe her. "This one means to cripple the vampires in Los Angeles, thereby weakening your authority. Beyond that, I cannot see yet. Perhaps he means to take over from you, or even kill you."

Now Josef laughed openly. "Many have tried, and I'm still here."

Emmaline saw that Natalya was getting frustrated, and didn't want her to over react. "Let's hope it's not that serious. I'm sure you appreciate that we mean only to protect the community and everyone's safety."

A thought occurred to Josef. "Could it be at vamp named Kahn, from Europe? I had a run in with him lately." He glanced at Emmaline, knowing she would remember the incident with Lola.

"No," Natalya frowned. "I don't believe it's anyone from overseas. He's been in the north, but is now moving closer." She paused. "Now that I'm here, I'm going to try to see who he is and what he wants."

Josef paced in front of his desk. "You say there are blood supply problems in other cities?"

Emmaline nodded.

"I haven't heard about anything in LA." Josef continued. "Let me check and see what I can find." Natalya smiled coolly. She knew Kostan would need her. Josef glanced at Emmaline, who said. "The Council has retained Natalya to help, and stop any trouble."

Josef hadn't lived more than 400 years by ignoring possible threats. If the Council was concerned, he would take it seriously. He turned, making his decision. "Very well, Mrs. Ivanovich, I appreciate your help. If there is someone out to cause trouble, I want to deal with it sooner than later."

Natalya smiled and nodded graciously now that she was being included. "Please, call me Natalya. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other often."

"I'll check on the blood suppliers in the area to see if there's anything going on. After our other meetings, of course." Josef nodded at Emmaline.

"Good." Emmaline responded. "Now we'll let you get back to your guests. I'll see you tomorrow evening at your office."

Josef escorted the two vampires out and went to find Simone. He passed through the crowd, greeting people and shaking hands. He noticed Guillermo with a tall redhead on his arm and saw Mick and Beth moving slowly on the dance floor, only aware of each other. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. He sighed to himself. He'd have to get Mick onto the blood supply problem, but not until after the party. Josef saw Hale standing by the door and called him over.

"Have you seen Simone?"

"I believe she is with Judge Rogers by the far alcove."

Josef nodded thanks and headed in that direction. Simone was talking with the district judge and her male freshie. She was at ease, chatting amiably, her court experience allowing her to handle herself in any situation. _She will make an amazing vampire._ Wait, did he just think that? He had asked her to marry him and he assumed she would want to be turned, but they still had not discussed it.

He greeted the judge and Simone. "Sorry to drag her away, but I promised my fiancée a dance." Simone made her goodbyes and Josef whisked her away to the dance floor. She settled into his arms, her emerald earrings sparkling in the low light. "Hmm. Alone at last." She smirked, indicating the still crowded room.

"I think I can fix that." He nuzzled her ear and then danced her toward the open terrace doors. They moved into the darkness, lit by the occasional star and stood together in silence for a few minutes.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Simone asked, arching her eyebrow.

Josef sighed. "Besides the Japan meeting, Emmaline just told me there are problems with blood suppliers up north. Apparently, someone is buying them out then turning around and gouging the local vamps for twice the price."

"And who is that dark-haired woman in the black sequins? A vampire, I take it?"

"Some supposed physic that the Council thought could help. She says there's a vamp behind the blood problem and she's the only one who can find him." Josef thought it better not to mention that Natalya thought the vamp in question was after him.

Simone stifled a smile. "Really? A psychic vampire? She looks more like some euro-diva."

"She does think rather highly of herself." Josef responded dryly.

They strolled to the darkest part of the terrace, overlooking the gardens. Josef stopped and turned toward the shadows. Even in the dim light, Simone could see he was troubled. Her heart went out to him and she put her arm around his waist. "I'm sorry, baby." She whispered. "They won't leave you alone for a minute. You're always on call to take care of everyone else's problems."

Josef felt her wave of caring envelop him. He knew she was as fiercely protective of him as he was of her. He was able to be himself with her, and that was the most precious gift she could give him. He put his arms around her, kissing her. He could always arouse her and now she felt his need for comfort. "Let's sneak down to the cabana, no one will be there now." She said wickedly. Josef grinned and hopped over the terrace rail to the ground fifteen feet below. He held his arms out, "Jump down to me, doll."

Without hesitation Simone swung her legs over the rail and pushed off, knowing Josef would catch her. When she got to the ground, she took off her heels and giggled at him, "Hurry up stud, it's almost dawn." Josef swept her up and moved at vampire speed toward the pool area, anticipating a satisfying end to the evening.

In another part of the gardens, two figures sat on a secluded bench and watched the sky lighten, listening to pre-dawn birdsong. Ewan turned to Sofia, "Are you tired? It's very late." He worried about her getting enough rest.

"Yes, a little but I can sleep most of the day since its Sunday." She glanced around her. "It's nice here, the gardens are beautiful."

"Yes, always the best with Josef. Did you enjoy the party?"

"It was fun; I didn't realize there were so many vampires in the area. They seemed very interesting."

Ewan nodded. He wanted Sofia to meet as many of the local vampires she could, to let them know she was under his protection. Even older than Josef, Ewan's mark gave her cachet in the community. Sofia leaned into him and broke into his thoughts.

"If you take me home now, I might just stay awake long enough to thank you for a lovely evening." Sofia said seductively, boldly running her hand over his thigh.

Ewan's fangs lengthened and his mouth watered for her blood. She was no longer the diffident girl he first met. She had blossomed into a sensual woman, confident in her ability to tantalize the man and vampire in him. He quickly stood and pulled her up, kissing her hand. His eyes glowed silver as he said, "Then, by all means, we should leave now."

xxxxxxxxxxx

Late the next afternoon, Mick got up quietly from the freezer he shared with Beth. As young as she was she needed more sleep, especially after their private party when they returned from Josef's. Mick pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms and went downstairs. He poured some blood in the kitchen, surveying the living area in the loft. Clothes were scattered, and Beth's shoes were left on the steps where they fell as he carried her up to their bed.

Mick heard his cell phone ringing somewhere in the room. He put down his glass and quickly rummaged through the clothing on the floor until he found his phone in his discarded tuxedo trousers.

He recognized Josef's ringtone. "Hey."

"Don't you ever answer your phone?" Josef said, irritated.

"I just got up, Beth's still sleeping. What's going on?"

Josef sighed. "I didn't mean to wake you but I heard something at the party."

"What?"

"Emmaline Martin is here and says there's a problem with blood supplies and someone's behind it."

The news electrified Mick. "Wait, Beth and I found out about a couple of suppliers." He went on to detail the incidents with Stofsky and Guillermo's job.

On the other end, Josef scrubbed his hand through his hair and tried to keep his temper. "And why am I just hearing about his now?" he said fuming.

"Come on Josef, we just found out about it a couple of days ago. Beth started looking into it and we were going to tell you after your party. I know you had meetings scheduled and we didn't think it was a big deal. Why is the Council involved?" Even though everything turned out well the last time, he was still wary of the Council.

"Apparently, they've hired this vampire to find out what's going on. They've used her before to deal with problems."

"Why? Is she a PI or something?" Mick asked, puzzled.

Josef snorted. "I wish. She's some kind of psychic and she says that a nut job is coming after me by taking over all the suppliers in LA."

"Okay." Mick said slowly. He didn't know what to think about the Council putting faith in a psychic, but he would find out what he needed by his usual methods. "We'll come by in a while and go over everything we know."

"Not tonight." Josef said frustrated. "I've got meetings all evening and I'm not sure when we'll be done. How about tomorrow night?"

Mick frowned. "Tomorrow I'm supposed to watch that scumbag for Talbot. I'm taking Beth to show her how to run surveillance."

"All right, we'll get together as soon as we can. Oh, by the way," Josef added. "you mentioned Guillermo. I got a message from him. Do you know what that's about?"

"Yeah, he's got a business idea, and it might help with this blood problem. You should listen to him."

"Fine. I'll call you when I get done with all these Council issues." Josef hung up quickly, and Mick thought he sounded tired. Mick always held himself apart from the vampire community, so he never considered the problems Josef dealt with by being the Elder. Now he was beginning to realize the aggravation involved. _Better him than me_, Mick thought at he rinsed out his glass then started to pick up the scattered clothing from the living room.

He grinned to himself as he remembered how they got there in the dawn hours before. Beth teased him in the car all the way home from the party and they barely made it into the loft before losing control. Their passion was still fresh and only seemed to increase with time. He was her sire, and they could sense each other's feelings and almost read each other's thoughts. Mick wondered, _was that enough_? He had a deep desire for something more solid and traditional. His marriage to Coraline was a disaster, but he wanted to show his commitment to Beth. Josef was engaged, and would eventually marry Simone. Was that what Mick wanted ? He didn't know as he stared out the window at the deepening dusk. He felt Beth waken, and knew she would be downstairs soon.

Beth came down quietly, aware of his mood. She went to him, putting her arm around his waist. "Is everything okay, Mick?

He smiled down at her, hugging her close, nibbling her ear and taking in her unique scent. "Everything is fine. Just missing you." She pulled him down for a lingering kiss and his arms went around her holding her tightly. Their kisses turned demanding, fangs clashing, until she finally pulled away.

"Do you have to work tonight?" She ran a finger down his bare chest. He shivered and stepped back a bit. "No" he replied, "but I think we need to look at the blood suppliers again." She was pulled out of her lustful contemplation of her mate when he told her about Josef's phone call and the Council's concerns.

"Hmm." Beth responded thoughtfully, going to the kitchen for some blood. "I started to make a list of the suppliers in the city. I need to do more research and try to find all of them so we know who and how many we're dealing with. I'm sure we can get some leads at the clubs and from the Cleaners."

Mick nodded. He knew her reporter instinct would kick in and she wouldn't let go until she had the answers. Beth finished her breakfast, and moved with vampire speed back over to Mick, slapping him on the butt, then racing to the top of the stairs.

"Come on, we're wasting time." she grinned down at him and disappeared into the bathroom for a shower. Mick was up the stairs in a moment, reflecting they would be saving water if he joined her. After all, he was only being environmentally conscious . . .

xxxxxxxxxxx

The police car drove slowly through the small business park, the officer again seeing the lights in the upper floor of one modest office building. Just because it was a small town on the fringes of LA, didn't mean their police force were less vigilant than the big city cops. When the tenants first moved in, their odd hours were noted and an officer stopped by to make sure all was well. The company president greeted him cordially, explaining that his investment firm primarily did business in Europe, and night hours were best for business. The cop went away satisfied and passed it on to the rest of the department.

The company didn't deal with investments, but something more ominous. The cordial president was a vampire, calling himself William Raffray. He looked up from his computer as two of his assistants came in. They were both young vampires he recruited in Vancouver, and he paid them well for their loyalty.

"Any new locations?" Raffray asked.

One of them responded, "Just the ones we already had." He checked a list in his hand. "I've asked around at the clubs, and no one has any new ones for us."

The other assistant continued, "I think we've found all the blood suppliers in the area."

"Don't be too sure." Raffray frowned. "We can't ask too openly, and we need to find all of them as quickly as we can. Then I want to close the deals fast. We're getting cash from the Seattle shops, but this set up is expensive."

"Yes, boss." One of them responded. "What if they don't cooperate? Los Angeles is different than Seattle, they have more human cops and more Cleaners."

"Leave that to me." Raffray smiled grimly. "If the suppliers don't want to sell, then they will be out of business—one way or another."

TBC

_**I'll try and get the next chapters up soon, Mick and Beth have a lot to do to stop this guy!**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Sorry I've been off the site for a while. Thanks again for staying with the story ~~~~~~**_

Chapter 7

Two shadows moved across a rooftop in a run-down area of East Hollywood. It was Mick's turn to watch the serial killer that had been turned loose. He had Beth with him to show her the finer points of surveillance. The previous night had been busy with trying to locate all the blood suppliers in the greater LA area, and when they had a chance to see Josef, they'd go over their findings with him. Beth was glad of a night out with Mick, even if it wasn't a romantic interlude. Excepting the party, she hadn't seen him much in the last weeks. When she started working for Josef she hit the ground running and was catching up on projects he had lined up. Working for Josef was demanding and many of Mick's cases had taken him out of town lately. She looked over at him, her enhanced vision letting her see him clearly in the gloom.

Mick felt her eyes on him, and tilted his head questioning. Beth responded with a twinkle. "I was just thinking that I'm glad I don't have to wait in the car anymore."

"You never waited in the car." He said with mock severity.

"I know." They gazed at each other with no need for words, a moment in time just to themselves. Mick put his arm around Beth, kissing the top of her head, moving to the edge of the roof. They peered down on a man lounging against the wall of a cheap hotel. He looked avidly at the passersby and occasionally spoke to someone who asked for a handout.

"What's he doing?" Beth asked.

Mick frowned. "Looks like he's trolling for kids again. Talbot was right; he's not going to stop."

Now, they watched Wilson push himself away from the wall and enter a small bar next to the hotel Mick said softly to Beth. "Okay, you keep a lookout for him and text me if he leaves the bar. I'm going to plant the bugs in his room." He suggested the listening device and camera to the Cleaners, and they agreed it would be easier to keep track of Wilson, especially in the daytime. Fortunately, vampires didn't have to worry about legalities or court orders.

Mick disappeared over the side of the roof, and melted into the darkness. Even her vision couldn't see him enter the other building. After a while the street below cleared out and she expected him to be back shortly. Suddenly, she scented another vampire, one she didn't know. She slid into a defensive position as Mick taught her and moved behind a chimney, pulling her SIG 9mm with silver rounds. She felt a slight movement, then she was slammed to the rooftop and the gun dislodged from her hand. Her attacker didn't budge, and she heard a woman's voice ask, "Are you all right?"

The pressure on her neck was released and Beth was up, ready to attack, her eyes crystal and fangs extended. She saw another vampire, dressed in black, with short dark hair. "Who are you?" Beth hissed. The other woman put up her hands in surrender.

"Sorry, I thought Mick would be here. I can scent him."

At the mention of Mick's name, Beth felt a bit easier, but still wanted to know who assaulted her. "Who are you?" She repeated.

"I'm Annie, one of the Cleaners. They told me Mick would be around watching Wilson tonight. Sorry if I scared you. I didn't want you shooting me, so I had to drop you quickly."

By this time, Beth was feeling relieved and foolish. She grimaced at herself, her face returning to human. Why did she think she could beat an older vampire, and a Cleaner to boot? Mick was right, she needed more practice. Annie picked up the weapon, handing it back to Beth. "That's a nice piece—loaded with silver, right?"

"Yes," Beth said, holstering the gun. "I can shoot pretty well."

"That's what I was afraid of." Annie replied with a slight grin. By common consent, they made their way back to the edge of the roof and Beth scanned the street. "Where's Mick?" Annie asked.

"He's over planting a bug and a lipstick camera in Wilson's room."

Annie nodded. "I heard that at our office." Then she asked, "So how are you doing? I was one of the ones to pick you guys up after that scum kidnapped you. You probably don't remember, you were pretty out of it."

"No, I don't recall a lot right after Mick turned me." She said apologetically. "But thanks for your help. I'm doing much better now."

"Sure." Annie said with a sidelong glance. This Beth Turner was an unknown quantity. After the ordeal of her turning, Annie figured Beth was a survivor, and she seemed to have gotten Mick out of his doldrums. Annie smiled to herself. Mick and Annie were just friends, but there was more than one Cleaner disappointed that Mick was off the market.

Mick exited Wilson's hotel and made his way stealthily across the street to get back to Beth on the roof. He felt her spike of panic and fear, and he didn't bother to climb the fire escape, but jumped on it from one floor to another until he landed on the roof with a growl. He smelled another vamp, and it took him a moment to realize it was Annie. He came over, checking Beth and asking softly, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, but I almost shot Annie."

"I had to disarm her, I was afraid she'd blow my head off." Annie responded.

Mick grinned. Then Beth said, "Guess I need more hand-to-hand practice. Annie took me down fast."

"Don't worry, it's my job. And you're not even a year old yet. Give it time." Annie said encouragingly.

Mick asked Annie, "What's going on?"

"Josef sent me over; he wants to see you and Beth right away. I'm here to finish your shift. He's at the office, get over there right away."

"Did he say why?"

Annie shrugged. "I'm not sure; there are a few others there."

"All right." Mick nodded toward the bar across the street. "The scumbag is in the bar, and the other guards said he usually drinks himself senseless and stumbles home when it closes. Maybe we won't have to guard him too closely now that we have the bug and camera in place."

"Hope so." Annie replied. "Get going, I'll be here until dawn. Oh, Beth, have this guy bring you down to the club some night, I want you to meet the gang."

Beth smiled. "I'd love to." Mick nodded goodbye and they quickly made their way to the Benz, parked on a side street. Beth pulled off her cap, shaking out her blond hair as Mick maneuvered through the night streets. She realized they were both dressed ninja-style, in black from head to toe. She glanced at Mick. "Do you think we should stop at the loft to change? I don't want to get arrested as a terrorist in this outfit."

"Nah, we're fine. If Josef said now, he means it. I hope whatever he wants us for, it's not Council business. I've had enough of them."

"Me, too." Beth agreed.

They passed the guards and parked in the secure area at Josef's building, riding up the back elevator. Entering into the outer area they saw Josef's assistant coming toward them.

"Hi, Deborah." Mick greeted the formidable guardian of Josef's office.

"Hello." she smiled at both of them. "Josef is in the small conference room. There are refreshments if you need some."

"Thanks." Mick responded and he and Beth entered the low-lit room. He noted that Bella was there along with Mac, another Cleaner as well as James, one of Josef's security team. He also observed the dark-haired, female vampire he remembered from Josef's party. She didn't look at him, but something about her made him uncomfortable.

Beth got them both drinks, O neg, not her favorite, but it was fresh and acceptable. She saw the dark-haired vampire wearing an elegant suit and heels, looking like she stepped out of a magazine. The vampire looked Beth up and down, smirking slightly at her obviously unfeminine attire. Beth narrowed her eyes, wondering who this woman was and why she was there.

The group gravitated to their seats sat down. The female vampire was across the table from Mick and he avoided her eyes, instead looking at Josef. At the head of the table Josef cleared his throat and gathered their attention. "First, let me present Natalya Ivanovich, a consultant provided by the Council." He went around the table to introduce the rest of the participants to Natalya. She avoided Mick's eyes, but fastened again on Beth, interested in St. John's fledgling. Natalya had by no means given up on acquiring Mick St. John; she just had to go about it in a more discrete way. Josef snapped her attention back to him.

"We all know why we're here. There seems to be a threat to our local community, and we need to find out who's behind it and stop them. Mick and Beth have compiled a list of most of the blood suppliers in the greater LA area. My staff will be contacted them by email or phone and ask them to let us know if anyone approaches them about buying their business. The ones we can't reach will be visited in person."

Bella commented, "That's going to leave us pretty short-handed. With our usual clean ups and surveillance on Talbot's criminal, we're stretched to the limit. We may have to bring in some outside vamps to help with the stake outs."

"Whatever it takes". Josef frowned. "We all need to be aware of anything that might jeopardize the community." He stood up and paced a moment before turning back to the group. "I've approved a new business venture, one that will directly impact this blood issue. Guillermo Gasol will be opening two new donation centers near college campuses. I told him to move on it as quickly as possible." He looked at Beth. "Beth, I'd like you to be the liaison with Kostan Industries to make sure he has everything he needs get this going. I don't want to use the regular acquisitions department for this one, since it's entirely vampire business."

Beth nodded, happy that Josef thought her qualified to take on the project. She turned to smile at Mick and he squeezed her hand. Natalya saw the byplay and was annoyed. One of her gifts was the ability to shield her emotions from other vampires. Now she put them in place so she would be a blank to the others in the room.

Natalya said, "I know you've heard about my abilities and some of you don't think I can be of much help. That is irrelevant to me at this point. My job is to find the criminal and stop him before more damage is done." She noted she had the group's attention. "I know this person is now near Los Angeles. I believe he is in a small town, north of the city, near a major highway. He is living and working out of an office building there."

Josef surreptitiously rolled his eyes. "That description could be a hundred towns."

Natalya swung to Josef and said sharply. "If you will allow me to finish, I think we can narrow down the area." She looked back at the group. "I will need someone who knows the region to drive me. I can get impressions as we go along and get closer to him. I'll know the town and the building when I see it."

Bella shifted in her seat. "We could spare a van, but only for a few hours."

Josef shook his head decisively. "No, I don't want any more distractions for your crews, Bella." He turned to Mick. "Can you handle this?"

Mick looked at Natalya, who pointedly stared at her manicured fingernails. Mick couldn't read anything from the green-eyed vampire and didn't know why he felt uneasy. He nodded to Josef. "Yes, I can do it."

"Fine," Josef responded. "But take one of the Escalades; your Benz is too conspicuous."

Natalya was triumphant, thinking of having Mick all alone in a car for several hours when Josef said, "James, you go with them in case they need back up."

Beth spoke up. "I can go, Josef."

"No, you need to get started with Guillermo. I want these centers up and running yesterday. We need to make sure we have adequate blood supplies for our people."

The meeting broke up shortly after and Natalya came up to Mick, handing him a business card. "Here is my telephone number. Please call and let my people know when you would like to go." She still didn't look him in the eye,

"Um, yeah, I'll do that." He thought it would be a waste of time, but couldn't think of any way to get out of it.

"In the meantime, I will look at maps and see if I can pick up any vibrations." Natalya said in a business-like manner. She nodded shortly at him and moved away to say goodbye to Josef.

Beth witnessed the conversation and as they left the office, she felt Mick's uncertainty. "What's wrong, Mick?"

He guided her into the car and took his place behind the wheel before answering. "I don't know about that woman. I can't get a feeling from her, she's like a blank wall."

"I couldn't read her either. I thought it was just me."

Mick shook his head. "I think all this is a wild goose chase, but with Josef and the Council, I don't have much choice."

"Just make sure you load up with silver bullets—and a couple of stakes, too." Beth commented as she nestled up against him. "It looks like we have the rest of the night off. Any ideas how to spend some time, Mr. PI?"

He saw her wicked expression and drove a little faster through the LA streets.

xxxxxxxxx

Sofia stared at her cell phone like it would jump up and bite her. She knew she should call her mother and let her know about Ewan, but she didn't know how her mother would react when she found out her daughter was dating a vampire. Her mother, Maureen, had spent time around them as a donor, and had a friendly relationship with Josef. He saw that Maureen had enough money to go to nursing school, and after she married and had Sofia, that the child had a college fund.

She sighed. Ewan had wanted to meet her mother; he was so old-fashioned that way. He didn't want to pressure her, and she understood how he felt. He had told her of the woman he loved so many years ago that rejected him when she found out his true nature. He hid it, but she knew there were still some scars and insecurities from that relationship. Sofia smiled a little to think she could cause such an old vampire to be nervous.

With determination, she picked up the phone and punched in the number.

"Hello." Came her mother's voice.

"Hi, mom."

"Sofie, honey, I'm so glad you called!"

"Yeah, sorry it's been a while. Work, you know. How are you? How's the studio?" Maureen had given up her nursing career a few years ago, went back to school and had opened an interior design business near the California wine country.

"The studio is good, I'm keeping busy. The economy is stable here, even in bad times people drink wine." Maureen said, smiling into the phone. "What have you been doing, besides work—and don't say 'nothing' because I know that's not true."

Sofia rolled her eyes. "Well, I really have been working a lot, with a new job and all." She told her mother about the ADA's office and her job, mentioning Ben Talbot several times.

"So," Maureen said slyly. "who is this Ben? Is he single? He's your boss, right?"

"Mother. Ben is a nice guy and he is my boss so anything there is definitely out. Besides, he has a girlfriend." _A vampire girlfriend_.

"Oh." Her mother sounded disappointed. Sofia ramped up her courage. Her mother had never been overprotective, but Sofia was her only child and wanted the best for her.

"As a matter of fact, mom, I am seeing someone."

"Who?" came delighted reply.

"His name is Ewan and he's from Ireland. He's got several degrees and he's a historian and a writer." Sofia paused, hoping that would be enough.

"Where does he work?"

"Um, he's self-employed right now."

"Oh, he's a bum?"

"No." Sofia said exasperated. "As a matter of fact, he's wealthy enough to be independent and spend his time writing. But he has been a teacher as well as going to school."

"I see. So how old is he?"

Sofia gulped and took a deep breath. "Um, about 700."

There was a long silence on the line. "Are you saying he's a _vampire_?"

"Yes, mom, he is."

More dead silence. "Mom? Are you still there?"

M_a_ureen answered slowly. "You're dating a vampire."

Sofia sighed. It was a good thing she had unlimited minutes on her cell phone. She had a feeling this call was going to take a long time.

TBC

_**Moms always worry, don't they? Next we see more of the bad guy and find out why he wants revenge. **_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Sorry for the delay in posting, RL keeps getting in the way. Thanks for reading!**_

Chapter 8

William Raffray strode into the office of his bogus investment firm, his eyes flashing silver. "Tommy, you and Al get in here. What the hell is wrong with you guys? I asked for at least six purchases this week, and you only have two?"

The younger vampires cowered at his anger and only Tommy dared speak. "We tried, boss. The two we got were owned by humans and it was easy to buy them off. The others were run by vamps, and they didn't want to deal."

Raffray pulled back his anger at the two vampires before him. He didn't want to alienate them; all in all, they'd been doing a good job. Obviously it was time for some muscle. He leaned back in his office chair and glared speculatively at the ceiling. "All right, we've tried the legal way, now it sounds like some drastic measures are called for. I'm going to bring down Eddie and the boys from Seattle. After a few stores blow up, I'm sure the other vampire owners will be happy to sell."

Al and Tommy looked at each other, glad they weren't in trouble. Things had been running pretty smoothly and the money was good. They had a nice place to stay in downtown LA and could visit the vampire clubs several nights a week after they finished work.

"Go on, you're off for the night." Raffray watched them leave, and made his calls to Seattle, satisfied that he would have reinforcements in a couple of nights. He got some blood from the refrigerator, and drank it straight. Most other vampires heated their bagged blood, preferring it to mimic the straight from the vein variety. Raffray preferred his cold. He leaned back in his chair again, remembering back to the time when he learned to like it that way.

It was 1896, and the old century was coming to a close. He'd wandered the gold fields in Alaska and made his way east to Dawson in the Yukon. His name was Jared Gibson then. It was turning winter and he stayed at a small hotel and soon found out he wasn't the only vampire there. The other one was Josef Kostan. A little older than Kostan, Jared eagerly listened to Kostan's plans for gold mining. Kostan needed a partner so they could watch each other's back. They staked a claim to two different mines, both striking a rich vein of gold. After a year and a half the mines were petering out and Josef and Jared decided to cash in their takings and move south.

A few days before leaving Dawson, Jared went back up to the hills for the last load of gold. An early blizzard blew up quickly and soon the conditions were whiteout, the snow blowing sideways and Jared couldn't see more than a foot ahead of him. He wasn't worried, thinking his vampire senses would lead him in the right direction. He stumbled over some rocks and fell headlong into a deep ravine, knocking himself out. It would have killed a human and soon Jared wished he'd had that option. He was buried in ice and snow, and couldn't dig out, no matter how hard he tried.

Jared knew that Josef would come looking for him. But as time passed, he heard nothing. His hunger overtook him and he wished he would just die rather than continue. His consciousness retreated to a small part of his mind and he lay comatose until suddenly the ice and rocks around him moved and he heard voices. Some humans had seen his clothing peeking through the snow and dug him out. Jared was too weak to move, but once he smelled the humans he quickly latched onto one and drained him. The other man screamed and tried to run off, but Jared quickly caught him, too.

He changed clothes with one of the men, taking his wallet and valuables. He was disoriented and still hungry, but the night was clear and he walked into Dawson. He found that 19 years had passed since he'd been entombed. Josef was gone, with all the gold. He was stranded in the wilderness and he vowed that Kostan would pay for his betrayal. It didn't matter how long it took, he would find Kostan and kill him.

Raffray finished his blood, and went to his freezer behind a locked steel door in his office to contemplate the downfall of his one-time partner, now enemy.

xxxxxxxx

"Sit down and relax." Josef said, pouring a stiff drink. "I'd offer you one, but you're driving tonight." He finished with a smirk. It was 10pm and Mick was in Josef's office waiting for Natalya so they could head out for another tour of the LA environs.

Mick glared at him, taking a seat in Josef's impressive office. "Very funny."

"What? You don't like chauffeuring our visiting diva?" Now Josef grinned openly.

"You know this is a waste of time." Mick growled. "We could be looking for this guy through our contacts and back-tracking those companies."

Josef sighed, serious now. "We are, Mick. But the Council requires we do everything possible to accommodate Natalya so we don't have a choice. I'm sorry you're stuck babysitting."

"This driving around is taking so much time I hardly see Beth anymore;" Mick grumbled. "Then, she's busy at the new store."

"Hey," Josef said slyly, "maybe she's having a thing with Guillermo."

Mick snarled and started to stalk out of the office, but Josef moved with vampire speed to stand in front of his friend. "Just a joke, okay?" He pushed Mick back into the room. "Have a glass of blood; I've got some fresh A neg."

Pouring a glass for Mick, Josef resumed his seat on the edge of his desk. Mick drank it moodily, and continued to frown at Josef.

"All right, maybe that was a little out of line. Lighten up, Mick. It's not the end of the world."

"Easy for you to say, Simone works in your office and you see her all the time."

"How far have you gotten to all of the areas Natalya thinks are possibilities?" Josef changed the subject.

"We just have a few more that she says meet her criteria." Mick shrugged. "I still think it's a waste of time and gas." Mick felt out of focus lately, with Beth so busy he seemed to have lost his center. He wanted Beth to be independent and happy in her work, but part of him was disappointed that Beth no longer seemed to need him as much. It was a selfish attitude, but he couldn't help it. He knew she loved him, but she was also excited about the new store project as well as her responsibilities for Josef.

Several floors below, in a vampire friendly condo that Josef owned, Natalya was getting ready for her evening excursion with Mick. She was greatly annoyed that one of Josef's security men was always accompanying them. She tried to insist on going alone with Mick, but Josef was adamant they have protection. She briefly considered glamouring the security guard, but if he was immune he would report it to Josef and she didn't want that. She sighed in frustration. Not only couldn't she seem to get Mick alone, but also couldn't pinpoint the location of the vampire they were seeking. All of this had put her on edge, and she was even snapping at Jekyll and Hyde.

Checking the mirror one last time, she headed for Josef's office. Mick had texted her he would be waiting for her there. Maybe she would get lucky, and tonight they would go out alone. As she entered the elevator, she saw James, Josef's security person already in the lift. He greeted her politely, and then was quiet as they continued to Josef's floor. For her part, Natalya wasn't going to speak to a lackey. When the doors opened, she swept toward Josef's office, with James following.

She entered without knocking, seeing Mick and Josef she smiled and said brightly, "I have my map, shall we go?"

Mick nodded goodbye to Josef, and Natalya took his arm, leading him toward the elevators, James bringing up the rear. "I'm hoping for some good luck tonight." Natalya beamed. She felt Mick's wariness and determined to charm him into relaxing with her. Besides, she needed his help in finding the location she had seen in her mind.

As they drove toward the designated area for the evening, Mick tried not to feel uncomfortable around Natalya. After all, she had given him no reason to dislike her, but he couldn't shake the feeling. Then, like a bomb, it came to him. Natalya reminded him of another dark-haired beauty, Coraline. She had the same drama and self-centeredness as his ex-wife. Maybe that was why….

Next to him, Natalya gave a cry, "Take the next exit, and go north. I'm sure that's the direction." She looked at him excitedly. They had covered the areas to the northwest of LA, and were now driving east to check out the towns on the boundaries of the mountains. Checking he traffic, he turned the black Escalade onto the 15, heading north. He remembered the last time he was on this highway, driving toward Victorville in pursuit of Leni to save her from the arms dealer trying to kill her. They had ended up in motel hell, and he thought he wouldn't live to see nightfall. Beth came to him there, and it was the first time he had tasted her blood. She had given it freely to save him, and looking back; he knew his fate was sealed at that moment. He relaxed into the drive, thinking of Beth calmed him and he smiled to himself. He was yanked out of his reflections by Natalya fiercely tugging on his sleeve.

"This is it, I know it. Take this exit." Her eyes were glowing as she took in the surroundings.

Mick pulled off the highway, into a parking lot. He leaned over the GPS screen on the dashboard.

"Where are we?" James asked from the back seat.

"A town called Devore." Mick replied, checking the map again.

"He is here, I can feel it." Natalya said intensely. "Just drive, I'll recognize the building.".

Mick put the car into gear and eased onto the street. It looked like mostly residential neighborhoods, punctuated with some shopping areas. Natalya leaned out of the window, and as they drove by a small office park and she exclaimed, "There—there's the building!"

Mick stopped on the street, not wanting to be conspicuous. "Are you sure?" It was a modest three story building and the 3rd floor windows were all lit.

"What's the address?" Mick asked. James had a better view and was able to see the street sign and get the address from the building.

He opened his cell phone and dialed a number, hoping there was a decent signal here. He was rewarded by a gruff "Hello," followed by ear blasting music.

"Logan, turn down the noise, man, I can't hear a thing." There were a few clicks and silence.

"I was in the middle of a great game, Mick." Logan grumbled, but not too much. Mick's calls usually meant a good payday and Logan had his eye on a new computer.

"Sorry, but I need you to run an address for me. It's an office building and I want to know who owns it, who are the tenants, taxes, and anything else you can get me. I'll text you the address. Call me when you have something."

"Sure thing." Logan said. "The usual rate?"

"Yeah," Mick grinned. "send the bill to Kostan industries." He hung up, then sent the address to Logan.

Natalya was still fixated on the building. "Let's get closer." she said, starting to open the car door.

"No." Mick said sharply, and James reached up to pull the door closed. "If this is really the guy, he's a vamp and would smell any strange vampires near his office. I don't want to give us away."

"Oh, yes," she sat back in her seat. "I didn't think of that." She wanted to triumphantly prove that her gifts were real and she was right all along.

"If it is the place, we need to get more information. Let's wait for Logan, and see what he finds out. Then we can figure out what to do next."

Natalya nodded in agreement as Mick turned the car toward the highway and downtown Los Angeles. "I'm just relieved I was able to finally pin him down." she sighed happily.

_Me, too._ Mick thought to himself. He had no idea if Natalya was right or wrong and at this point he didn't care. It meant he could stop the nightly driving and maybe he could spend some time with Beth now. In a better mood, he sat back in the leather seat.

Natalya put her hand on his arm as he drove. "I feel like celebrating tonight." She purred. "Would you join me for a drink?"

Mick glanced over at her, giving her a lop-sided smile. He was so sexy that Natalya had to rein in her lust, erecting her shields immediately. She didn't want Mick or the guard to know her emotions.

"Thanks, but I have work to catch up on at the office and Beth will be back soon."

"Of course." Natalya replied, trying to put some warmth into her voice. "You must take care of your business." She had to find a way to get rid of that nuisance fledgling of St. John's.

They returned to the Kostan building garage, and Mick bid Natalya and James goodnight. He picked up his Mercedes and made it back to the loft in record time. Beth was there, and she looked up from the kitchen when he entered.

"Mick!" He was over to her in a second, picking her up and spinning her around while she giggled. When he dropped her to her feet, he took her mouth in a deep kiss. Loving that she didn't have to stop to breathe anymore, she returned his kiss in kind. There seemed to be something desperate in the way Mick held her. She ran her fingers through his long hair, drawing him closer, pressing against him. He finally pulled away slightly and continued to kiss down her throat.

"Mick, is everything all right?" She felt his unsettled mood and was concerned.

"Hmmm." He mumbled, snuggling against her, her scent distracting him. "I've just missed you baby. You have no idea."

Beth hugged him tighter. "I've missed you too." They stood together for a moment, then she asked, "I was just going to take a bath. Would you care to join me?" She smiled wickedly. "There's lots of ice in the freezer."

"Go start the water and I'll bring the ice." He grinned, relaxing for the first time that night.

xxxxxxxx

The lights burned late in Ben Talbot's office. He was preparing for a case and he was tired. He sat back a moment, rubbing his eyes and thinking of Megan. He would so much rather be at her condo or his house, his arms wrapped around her. Sighing, he shuffled through the papers on his desk, segregating them into piles. He needed a new file folder and pulled out his desk drawer, not wanting to go hunting through the supply closet. Surely there was an empty one in there somewhere. Way in the back he pulled out a couple of folders, but one wasn't empty. Some 8X10 photographs spilled out. He recognized the pictures that had been sent to him anonymously long ago. They showed Mick St. John being hit by a car, and Beth Turner helping him up. He'd forgotten about them, what with finding out that vampires existed and the turmoil caused by that crazed Lola.

Ben thought back. He'd gotten the pictures in a plain envelope about the same time that list was left outside his office. He knew Lola had sent the list, so he figured she'd sent the photos too, just to cause more trouble. That must be it, since he hadn't heard anything more about them from anyone. He studied the pictures again. He'd been puzzled the first time he'd seen them, but now it was clear that Mick really did get hit by a speeding car and got up unhurt. Of course, the first time he'd seen them, he didn't know Mick was a vampire.

He started to tip the photographs into his shredder, but changed his mind. He'd better give them to Mick in case they might be needed against Lola. It wouldn't do to destroy evidence. Also, he owed Mick for his help with the dirt bag Wilson. He put them back into the file folder and slipped it into his briefcase. He'd stop by Mick's office as soon as he had a chance.

TBC

_**Those Dean Foster pics just won't go away, will they? Next, Guillermo gets a visit and things get hot around LA. **_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Thanks to all of you reading, and for the reviews—they are most appreciated! **_

Chapter 9

"It looks beautiful, Guillermo!" Beth exclaimed.

Guillermo grinned as they walked through the new blood donation center that was due to open soon. With the help of Kostan Industries, Beth steered Guillermo through the myriad of legal red tape needed to open a health-related business. The interior was complete; they were just waiting for the final city inspection. The decor was modern, with wifi, flat screens and a juice bar in the corner for post-donation refreshments. Beth was pleased with their progress and planned a big PR push at the nearby Hearst campus. Blood donations that didn't meet vampire standards would be given to human blood centers and hospitals.

Beth and Guillermo were the only ones left in the store and it was after midnight. They were working long hours and there was much more to do before the opening. Guillermo shrugged on a jacket.

"I'm going over to the other store to see how Terrance is coming on the paperwork." A second donation center was being set up across town and Terrance, the other vampire from the LA morgue, was going to run it. The construction had been delayed and it wouldn't be ready for another month. "Do you want to walk out with me and I'll lock up?" Except for an occasional party, Beth hadn't spent much time with Guillermo and found she liked working with him.

"That's okay; I'm parked out in back. I'm going to give Mick a quick call to see if he's home. I'll be by tomorrow night with the applications for the front office staff."

"Good." Guillermo replied. "Don't forget the back door locks automatically." With that, he gave her a mock salute and let himself out, locking the front door behind him.

Beth turned off the lights, and walked to the back of the store through the donation rooms and offices. She flipped open her cell phone, dialing Mick. He answered after one ring.

"_Hi, baby_."

"Hi, yourself." She said softly, enjoying the sound of his sexy voice. "Where are you?"

"_I'm over at Logan's trying to run down info on that building we found last night_."

"Any luck?"

"_Not so far_." Mick said with an unneeded sigh. "_We know who owns the building, but not the tenants. We'll have to do some more digging."_

"Sorry, sweetheart, maybe I can help later. I'm leaving for home now. When you get done, how about a nice ice bath? You seemed to enjoy it last night." Her voice lowered to a sexy rumble.

"_Yeah, that would be great_." He knew Logan was right beside him listening with a wolfish grin. "_We can talk about it when I get home_."

Beth chuckled softly. "All right, I'll see you …" she paused. Was that the front door? Did Guillermo come back? "Just a minute, Mick."

She moved quietly toward the front again. "Mick," she said in vampire undertones. "I think someone's trying to break into the store….."

"_Beth,_" he said sharply, "_get out of there_, _**NOW**__!"_ He heard shuffling, then noises of movement.

"_**BETH**__!" _

"Just a minute, Mick." She whispered, slipping her phone in her pocket. She looked at the back door—what if someone was there too? Thinking quickly, she headed to a closet and up a ladder to a hatch on the roof. Now she knew why Josef's architect had insisted there be an escape route from the building. She didn't see or scent anyone in the back alley, and jumped down.

"I'm out now, Mick, can you get over here? I don't know what's going on." Beth melded into the shadows behind the building, not wanting to investigate by herself.

"_I'm on my way. Be careful_." Mick replied, turning to the stairs and yelling at Logan. "Call Josef's office and have them send a security team over to Guillermo's new store." He didn't wait for Logan's answer as he sped out of the computer geek's basement. He looked at his car and thought it would be too slow to navigate through traffic, so he set out on foot at vampire speed through the alleys and back streets to the store. He'd been there once and knew Beth would be parked behind the building. As he neared, he could scent Beth and she threw her arms around him. He held her in a tight hug, relieved she was all right.

"What happened?" He asked gently.

"I was talking to you and I heard someone up front. I thought they might be at the back door, too. There was more than one and definitely vampires. Our security system isn't online yet, so they may have picked the lock. I went out the closet escape hatch."

He smiled at her, "You did good, baby. Let's get around to the front and try to see what they're up to."

They circled around the block, coming up between two buildings opposite the store. There seemed to be no movement, and neither of them could hear anything out of the ordinary. Mick looked at her sharply. "Stay." She nodded, for once willing for him to take the lead.

Mick crossed the street at vamp speed, crouching down as he peered in the windows. There was no one in the building, and no scent or movement. He sniffed deeply, and saw three figures enter then leave by the front door. He pulled on it slightly and it was unlocked. He went in and glanced around the interior and nothing had been disturbed so vandalism or theft was not the intention. He drew another breath and saw them working with small devices. _Bombs?_

He was back to Beth in a moment, "Run, now. We need to get away from here." She didn't question, but followed Mick. They stopped a block away in the doorway of a closed store and called Josef's house.

Hale answered with his usual aplomb. "Kostan residence."

"Hale, it's Mick. Do you have the number for the security guys that are headed for Guillermo's?"

"One moment, Mr. Mick. I can transfer you to James' cell." Mick heard a couple of clicks, then James came on the line.

"James, this is Mick, don't get near the store, I think it's mined to blow up."

"_We're almost there. Where are you_?"

Mick told him and he saw the Escalade pull up beside them. He guided Beth into the back seat, just as a huge explosion rocked the neighborhood, sending debris and flames into the sky. Mick slammed the door and they traveled quickly through the streets toward Josef's office.

"Are you all right, sweetheart?" He looked her over carefully.

"I'm fine, Mick. I wish I could have at least gotten a look at those guys so we have something to go on. But I know I'm not ready to take on a bunch of vampires yet." She sighed. "I can't believe they blew up the store. We worked so hard on it, how dare they?" Her anger started to override her fear.

Mick hugged her with a small smile as he kissed the top of her head. "Buildings can be replaced but you can't, my love. I'm glad you got out of there. We'll find out who's behind this, don't worry."

Beth lapsed into silence. She knew the explosion had the potential to cause major problems for the vampire community and focus unwanted attention on the blood suppliers. Her thoughts were interrupted when they arrived at Josef's building.

Everyone piled out of the SUV and went directly to Josef's office. Mick noted that James stayed in the office as the other security guards ranged themselves outside the door. Bella the Cleaner was there and soon Guillermo rushed in asking questions, but was silenced by a look from Josef.

The next person to enter was a surprise—Ben Talbot. Ben looked around and saw Mick who shrugged and nodded toward Josef. Ben wished that Megan was with him, but she was out of town on Council business. Still, she trusted these people so he was prepared to do the same.

Mick noticed that Josef looked calm, but he could feel the rage below the surface and it mirrored Mick's own at what almost happened to Beth. Josef sat on the edge of his desk and addressed the room. "Sorry for the urgent call." He took a calming breath and continued. "Tonight we've been attacked. I've received word that two blood suppliers along with our new donation center have been blown up. Fortunately, no one was injured."

This was news to Guillermo and he was shocked. He came quickly when Josef's office had called, without knowing why.

Josef looked at Talbot. "Ben, we have been looking into this as an internal vampire matter, but with tonight's explosions we can't keep the human authorities from getting involved. Can you find out what they know so we can make sure we're covered?"

Talbot frowned. "I'll see what I can do, but this will be handled by the fire department and the arson squad. Maybe even Homeland Security if they feel it's a terrorist threat. Do you know what happened?" Talbot was focused and in control. Josef admired the human; he wasn't intimidated in a roomful of vampires.

Josef turned to Beth and in a milder tone asked, "Beth, can you tell us what you saw?"

Beth detailed what happened. "I'm sorry it's not much." Mick continued with what he had seen with his vamp abilities.

"Are there any leads?" Talbot questioned.

Josef got up and started to pace. "We have some information we're trying to get confirmed. I believe there's a vampire behind this and we're trying to be careful."

"I know some guys over in the fire division. I'll see what they find out and let you know." Talbot responded.

Josef nodded grimly. "We appreciate your help."

"What about our other store on the west side?" Guillermo spoke up. "It's not due to open for a few weeks."

"Shut it down." Josef replied. "Stop all the work for now. We need to be able to watch all the other blood suppliers." He looked at Bella.

The Cleaner shook her head slightly. "There are small supply shops in all the surrounding cities, most of them very inconspicuous. We can watch the more noticeable places like the clubs, but we don't have the resources to guard everything. I think it would be better if all blood supplies be diverted to the larger dealers for the time being. It will be inconvenient for some but it'll be easier to make sure they are safe."

"I'll have Rider send out messages to as many vamps as possible notifying them of the temporary change." Josef said, with a nod to Beth. "Fortunately, Beth has been updating our contacts list in the LA area so it should be fairly easy." Beth smiled weakly at the compliment and settled herself closer to Mick.

Josef continued, "Anyone who can't get blood should call either the Cleaners or my office. We'll make sure everyone is taken care of."

Bella stood, "We'll start notifying the smaller suppliers tonight. I'll get you a list of the places we'll set up to distribute."

"We have to put a positive spin on this, I don't want anyone panicking and going off on humans." Josef stated, glancing at Talbot.

Beth sat up. "I'll handle the any calls or inquiries we get about the situation. I'm sure anyone in the community that has a question will call the office."

Josef was pleased that everyone was taking it calmly and ready to defuse the situation. "All right, let's get started, and make sure we've covered all the bases." He dismissed them with a smile. "Mick, can I talk to you?"

The others in the room started to disperse, and Beth went to Guillermo and gave him a quick hug. "I'm so sorry, Guillermo." she said.

He just shook his head, sadly. "I guess we can start over." Then his eyes flashed. "I'd like to get my hands on the creep who did this."

Beth grimaced sympathetically. "Me, too." Beth noticed Ben Talbot slipping out the door and gave him a small wave and smile. He responded with a wave as he left. Bella and James had their heads together and Mick and Josef were still talking.

"I'm going to help Mick find this guy. I may not be a PI, but I've been in a fight or two." Guillermo grinned and Beth could see the strength under his laid-back attitude.

"That's good; I'll feel better if some has his back. I'm not much help against other vamps yet." Beth said in a small voice.

Guillermo took her hand, giving it a squeeze. "You'll get there, Beth. You have the instincts and the determination. You just need a few more years." He smiled now, giving her a wink.

Beth smiled back and saw that Mick was coming toward them. "Sorry about the store, G."

Guillermo scrubbed his hand across his face. "I'm ready to help if you need it, just call. Guess I'll go over there and see what's left. I'm sure the cops will want to talk to me. Let me know if you need anything, Beth."

"C'mon, sweetheart." Mick said. "It's been a long night and we have a lot to do tomorrow." Suddenly, he was tired and only wanted to get back to the loft and spend time with his mate. He led Beth to Josef's garage where a limo was waiting and asked the driver to take them back to Logan's to pick up Mick's car. Beth was quiet and he didn't think it would be a good time to mention her Prius was probably toast. He drove them home and made sure everything was locked down—just in case.

Beth flicked on the fireplace, sitting on the sofa. Mick sat down next to her and quirked an eyebrow. "So, is there anything you want to tell me?" She looked at him blankly.

"Like why you and Guillermo were holding hands back there?"

A broad smile brightened her face, her mood lifting. "Oh, um, well Guillermo is my new boy-toy."

"Uh-huh." Mick pressed himself against her, nibbling her earlobe and nipping down her neck. "Tell me more."

"Mick…." She breathed, senses aroused, twisting around to put her hands under his shirt. He gasped a little when she ran her nails over is hard abs, his body responding to her touch. He covered her mouth, sucking on her bottom lip and allowing his fangs to draw blood. It was her turn to moan and kiss him back, their fangs clashing briefly.

Mick pulled back seeing her silvered eyes and growled, "I think you promised me an ice-bath. I'll show you why you don't need a boy or a toy."

Beth laughed huskily. I'm looking forward to that, Mr. St. John.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

The amber liquid poured like gold into the cut crystal glass. _Nothing like an expensive scotch to round out the evening_, William Raffray thought. He had confirmation that three of the community's blood supply stores had been destroyed. Eddie and his boys had done a professional job and now they were on their way to the large mansion that one of his other companies owned in the valley.

He sipped his drink, contemplating his next move. The news of the bombings will go around town like wildfire. There should be no difficulty in snapping up more stores as long as the owners fear for their safety. Al and Tommy could go out again tomorrow night. In the meantime, he mused, he would close up the office and move to the mansion. He was used to moving frequently, and he lived this long by being careful. He took another burning mouthful of scotch. Yes, things were going very well and soon Josef Kostan would have a lot more trouble.

TBC

_**Next, secrets come out and good friends help in times of trouble.**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**The explosions aren't over yet! Hope you enjoy the chapter~~~~~~~~~~~~**_

Chapter 10

Two nights after the bombings, Mick sat at his office desk, trying to get more information on the tenants of the building that Natalya had pointed out. There were three companies in the building; one on each floor. On the first floor was a medical billing company, on the second an accounting firm and on the third was an investment company. Public records showed their incorporation papers, and he asked Logan to research the companies to find their owners. He sat back and wondered when Beth would get home. He had been so relieved she hadn't been hurt in the destruction of the store he didn't want to let her out of his sight. _Like that was going to happen. When did I lose control as a sire?_, he thought wryly.

Mick heard a knock on his office door, surprised to scent Ben Talbot. He opened the door, saying, "Hi, Ben, what can I do for you?" Mick sensed Ben was uncertain but determined. Mick hadn't had much contact with him since Talbot had learned their secret. He seemed to be accepting of them, and Mick knew he was involved with Megan.

"I wanted to talk if you have a minute."

"Sure, have a seat."

Ben handed Mick a folder. "These were sent to me in a plain envelope right around the time that list was delivered. I didn't know what to make of them at the time, so I just filed them away. Now, I think maybe Lola had something to do with it. I came across them again the other day and didn't want them to fall into the wrong hands."

Mick took the folder and thumbed through the half dozen photographs of him being run over by a car and being helped up by Beth. "Do you know who took these?" He asked, frowning.

"I don't know. Like I said I they were sent to my office. When I got them I was curious, but figured they were fakes." Ben smiled, "Now I understand, since I found out about vampires. I thought you'd better have them."

"Thanks, Ben, I appreciate your concern." Obviously, Talbot didn't know anything else. He was going to have to find out where they came from—these photos were dangerous. Now, he changed the subject. "Have you heard anything about the bombings?"

Talbot shook his head. "No, everything's still under investigation. They're doing interviews with all the owners and neighbors who might be witnesses. I'll let you or Josef know when I hear anything."

"Thanks, Ben. We all appreciate your help."

Ben smiled, getting to his feet. "No problem. I guess there's been nothing going on with Wilson? I'm getting a weekly report from Bella, but just wanted to check."

Mick shook his head. "He seems to be lying low right now. Don't worry, we won't forget about him."

"Thanks. Well, I guess I'd better go; I've got some interviews tomorrow. Say hi to Beth for me, will you?"

"Yes, I will. Is Megan back in town yet?"

Ben smiled broadly. "She got back late last night." The two men said goodbye and shook hands. When Ben left, Mick studied the photos again.

Beth leaned back in the elevator taking her up to the loft penthouse. It was early evening, but she had been up since mid-morning. The arson division wanted to question her about the explosion at the donation center since her damaged car had been found in the back parking lot. They had towed it to an impound lot, and she had cringed to see the fire-scarred vehicle. Fortunately, her laptop had been in the trunk and escaped without harm. She explained that she was the representative from Kostan Industries, the sponsor for the donation center. There was nothing untoward, since Beth made sure everything about the center was done legally and by the book.

Beth was relieved when they had finished with their questions and she was free to leave. Josef had arranged for her to use a company car until she found another. She didn't call Mick; she just wanted to get home. She clicked the remote opener, and entered the loft. Immediately, she scented that Ben Talbot had been there. She dropped her purse and went in search of Mick. The door to his office was open and she peeked through. He seemed to be studying something, and didn't look up right away, even though she knew he could tell she was there.

"Hi, sweetheart." Beth moved toward the desk, and then stopped with a sharp gasp. Ranged on the desk were the pictures that Dean Foster had taken many months ago, after the Tierney Taylor murder. "Where did you get those?" She said, alarmed.

He realized something was wrong and could feel the guilt and remorse rolling off her. "Why, have you seen them before? He asked, frowning.

"Yes. Where did you get them?" She asked again.

"Ben Talbot brought them by. They were delivered to him about the same time as Lola's list and he thought they were connected. He thought I knew what they were and I should have them." Mick stood, staring down at her, unsure of what to think. "Who took them, Beth? What do you know about them?"

Beth turned and walked back into their home, going to the kitchen to get a glass of wine. She probably should have some blood, but alcohol seemed a better choice. Mick followed her, determined to find out why the pictures upset her so much.

She stood in the kitchen, taking a deep breath and looking Mick in the eye. "Those pictures were taken by Dean Foster, the paparazzi that was following Tierney. All the others moved on after she died, but Foster kept following you. You remember the night those were taken?" Mick nodded and she took another sip of wine for courage.

"Foster sent them to me at Buzzwire and tried to blackmail me into giving him all of Buzzwire's photo ops. I knew he'd keep following you until he caught you doing something that would show you're a vampire." She looked up at him with watery eyes. "I couldn't let him….. I had to protect you, like you always protected me."

"What did you do, Beth?" Mick demanded, afraid of the answer.

She dropped her eyes and whispered, "I went to Josef."

"Tell me." He said sternly.

"Josef said he would take care of it." She looked up at him again, squaring her shoulders. "I didn't want you to leave and start over. I didn't want to lose you."

Mick stood closer to her. "What happened to Foster?" Mick knew that his friend was ruthless when it came to enemies, and it was doubtful the photographer was still alive.

"I—I don't know, I never asked."

Mick slammed away from her, into the living room. How could Beth and Josef deceive him like this? He turned accusingly. "You knew what he would do, and you've known about this for how long? After everything that's happened, you still lied to me. I thought we trusted each other, I thought….."

"Mick," Beth began, his anger hitting her in waves. She had to make him understand. Her anguish was answered by Mick's hurt, and the room vibrated with pain. As she started to speak, Mick shook his head. "No. I'm going out." He said leaving quickly before Beth could react. She heard the slam of the stairwell door and knew she couldn't catch him.

Beth collapsed onto the floor, her emotions churning, tears chasing down her face. She wanted to tell him before, now he was so furious she wasn't sure if he'd even listen. After a few minutes of being paralyzed, she thought_, Oh, no. He'll go to Josef._ She knew she couldn't let Josef take all the blame for her actions. She had to get to Josef and try to explain to Mick.

Natalya wandered in the almost empty offices of Kostan Industries. . Most of the human staff was gone and not too many vampires were around either. Josef himself was at a meeting across town and not expected back tonight. Since she found the building where the rogue vampire was, she didn't have much to do but wait around and she was bored. There was nothing to do and not even her two freshies were around tonight. She didn't feel like going to a club alone. She wondered if there were any vamps left in the office she could convince to take her out.

She was in the hallway outside Josef's office when she smelled a familiar vampire. She turned with a bright smile. "Hello, Mick. How are you?"

Mick was so focused on finding Josef that he barely noticed Natalya. "Oh, hi." He made for the door of Josef's office which was empty and dark. He almost snarled, and Natalya was intrigued to feel the emotions radiating off Mick.

"Mick, what's wrong?" She came up and laid a hand on his arm. He shook her off and said, "Nothing, I need to find Josef."

"I heard he was at a meeting and wasn't expected back." Natalya's interest increased as Mick stood still trying to regain his control. She was excited by his passion and best of all, he was alone. "Mick, I don't know what's wrong, but you should probably have something to drink."

He looked at her and saw nothing but concern. With a short nod, they went to the large conference room, where there was a full bar. The lights were dim but they could still see as Natalya found the scotch. She poured him a healthy measure and asked, "Do you want some blood? I think there's some in Josef's office."

"This is fine." he said, downing it in one gulp, hoping the burn would quell some of his frustration. He looked at Natalya and gave her a small smile. "Thanks."

Natalya drew closer to him. "Do you want to talk about it?" She wanted Mick to talk, but was also scheming how quickly she could entice him down to her condo. She led him to a leather couch in an alcove of the room. He sat down, putting his head in his hands. "Beth and I had a fight."

"I know you'd probably rather talk to Josef, but I'd be happy to listen." She said softly.

"No, that's not why I want to see him." Mick seethed. "He's been going behind my back and he needs to back off."

Natalya was surprised and amused. Yes, she could definitely use this. "I'm sorry, Mick. It's always a shock when a friend betrays you."

"I thought I could trust them, but they both lied to me." He sat back, eyes closed.

Natalya rubbed his arm, getting closer. "I think I can make you feel better, if you'll let me."

He turned and looked at her, questioning. She just smiled and he fell into the dreamy green depths of her gaze and forgot about his anger. Untold possibilities lay in her look, and he wondered how he never saw how lovely and beguiling she was. Her touch was like fire and he wanted to be burned. His eyes crystaled and he growled as he pulled her toward him for a searing kiss.

Beth brushed past the security guard and made her way to Josef's office. It was dark, but she could scent Mick as well as other vampires. _He must have just been here,_ she thought distractedly. She quickly walked through the hallways, still picking up his trail. It was stronger, and led to one of the conference rooms. Pushing open the door, it was almost dark inside but she recognized the two figures entwined on the leather sofa.

"Mick," she breathed, not believing what she was seeing. He peered around Natalya with silver eyes, his fangs apparent. He looked unfocused, with a vacant expression, not seeing her. Natalya turned to Beth, smirking and Beth fled the room blindly racing headlong toward the doors, the pain too great for her to stand still. In her rush, she almost knocked down someone.

Simone dropped her papers, righting herself. "Beth, what's wrong?" She grabbed Beth's arms, seeing the tears streaming down her face. Beth couldn't speak for a moment, and then said, "He's in there with her—he's touching her, kissing her…" Beth was on the verge of collapse and Simone shook her gently.

"Who, Beth? Do you mean Mick?" Beth nodded, unable to say it out loud. "Where?"

"In the conference room. That Natalya, she just laughed at me." Beth gasped.

Simone's narrowed her eyes. Josef had told her Natalya was trouble, but how could Mick get sucked in? Simone was a fighter and she knew Beth was too, but now her friend was in shock. "Are you sure you weren't mistaken?" One thing Simone knew was how much Mick loved Beth. She couldn't imagine him being unfaithful.

Beth was still dazed, but the tears had almost stopped. Her insides were ripped apart and she couldn't think or function. Her only thought was to get away, as if movement would stop the agony.

"I saw them. I need to go, Simone."

"Oh, no you don't." Simone pulled her to Josef's office. Opening a drawer in a sideboard, she took out a wooden stake and handed it to Beth. "Are you going to let that bitch take your man?"

Beth shook herself, Simone's words finally getting through to her confused mind. What was she thinking, running away in hysterics like some teenage bimbo? She hadn't run from the seedy motel when Mick had needed her blood. That was the biggest leap of faith she'd ever made in her life, even more than being turned. They had been through hell and lost too many people for her to give up. She had to show Mick she would fight for him.

Beth's feet moved of their own accord and she stalked toward the room. She barely heard Simone talking to someone behind her. She pushed open the door and saw them again, and coldness engulfed her as she plunged the stake into Natalya's back. The older vampire didn't make a sound as she slipped from Mick's lap onto the carpeted floor. Mick stayed sitting on the sofa, his eyes glassy. He looked dimly at Natalya but didn't move.

"Mick," Beth said sharply. He still didn't say anything and didn't look at her. Beth stiffened, she felt nothing from him. _That's it then_. Anguish gripped her and she turned to leave in despair. Simone saw her and tried to speak but Beth swept past her and disappeared out the door.

Simone entered the conference room, followed by two security guards. She glanced at the still body of Natalya with contempt. "Put her somewhere safe until Josef gets back. Don't take out the stake."

"Yes, ma'am." One of them responded. All of Josef's staff knew that Simone was to be obeyed as if it was Josef speaking.

Finally, Mick stood trying to clear his head and looking dumbfounded. He watched the guards remove Natalya, and thought he could scent Beth. "What's going on?" He asked.

Simone gave him a thunderous look and slapped his face. "You bastard!" She spat out.

Mick backed up. "Simone? What the hell?" He had no idea why she would attack him. "What's the matter with you?"

"Don't give me that, you son of a bitch. You just destroyed my friend. How could you?"

Mick looked confused and questioned, "What are you talking about?"

Simone crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a poisonous look. "I'm talking about you playing grab-ass with Natalya on Josef's new leather couch."

"What?" Mick rubbed his eyes. _What was she talking about?_ "I don't know what you mean."

"Oh, I don't suppose you remember Natalya all over you with your tongue down her throat?" Simone sneered.

Mick blanched. He had a vague memory of Natalya speaking with him about Josef and Beth, then nothing until he saw Simone. "I—I don't remember anything like that."

"Sure." Simone looked at him skeptically. "And you don't remember Beth staking that bitch?"

Now Mick looked panicked. "Beth was here?"

"Damn straight—she jammed a stake into your little playmate." Simone said grimly.

Oh my god, Beth saw. He still didn't remember being with Natalya, but if Simone and Beth saw him, it must be true. Why couldn't he remember, what was wrong with him? He started to pace running his hands through his hair. Was he going crazy? He needed to see Beth, his anger over the Foster photos forgotten.

Simone watched him with creeping uncertainty. He seemed sincere. Sure, he had been kissing Natalya, but his frantic concern about Beth had her wondering. He hadn't even asked what would happen to Natalya. "Mick," she said tentatively, "what do you remember about tonight?"

He stopped, turning toward her. He explained quickly about the paparazzi pictures, and how he and Beth had fought. "I came over here looking for Josef and ran into Natalya. All I remember is sitting in here talking to her, then seeing her on the floor, staked." He shook his head again. "I couldn't have been drugged, it wouldn't happen like that. I have to find Beth, to tell her…..to explain. Do you know where she is?"

His torment touched Simone and as unlikely as it seemed, she believed him. "I'm sorry, Mick, she just ran out. Try calling her, at least she'll know you want to find her."

Mick nodded bleakly and glanced at the clock. It was just midnight and so much had happened in a few hours. It was going to be a long night and he had to find Beth.

TBC

_**Don't worry about Mick and Beth—into every story a little angst must fall, right? Next, Josef finds the bad guy, or does he? **_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Thank you for reading and following the story. Your reviews have given me ideas on how to change/add to the story! I'm happy there are Moonlight fans out there who still love the show. **_

Chapter 11

The music was deafening, especially for a vampire. Josef stood at Logan's door holding an expensive bottle of single malt scotch and hoped his knocking could be heard over the din inside. Logan looked at the video screen to see who was there. _Holy crap, Josef Kostan!_ Logan quickly muted his current game and flung open the door.

Josef walked in with the _noblesse oblige_ of a squire calling on one of his lackeys. His meeting had ended early so he decided to pay the computer geek a personal call to thank him for his help in the current crisis. Logan had also been a help when Emma Monahan went crazy and almost exposed them all. Money was a good motivator, but the personal touch went a long way with loyalty.

"Mr. Kostan," Logan said, "what are you—I mean, what can I do for you?"

Josef surveyed the basement, loaded with computers, shelves with collectibles and the essential freezer in the corner. Now he turned and smiled at Logan, flicking a bit of fluff off his Armani sleeve. "I wanted to come by and thank you for all your help with this blood supply business. Mick's told me you've worked with the Cleaners and contacted almost everyone about the new system."

"Thanks, I did my best." Logan was shocked that Josef Kostan would come to see him. Logan was only about 35 years old in vampire years, and when he was human had been among the first to work with computers in what was now Silicon Valley. After he was turned, he continued to work on all the latest technologies and software. He didn't worry about having to move around; he just created another paper identity and never left his basement. Computers were his passion, not that he didn't like the ladies, but they weren't usually interested in his techie obsession. However he had heard about Josef Kostan's supermodel freshies…

Josef put the liquor on a table and turned to Logan. "Have you been able to find anything on the tenants of that building? Mick said you were working on it."

"Just got the information about a half an hour ago." Logan said eagerly. "I left a message for Mick." He turned to his computer screen. "Here they are. On the first floor is ATD Resources, a medical building company owned by a bunch of doctors. They're all human, I checked them out. On the second floor is LPL Financial, also human-owned. The third floor is Yukon Investments. I really had to hack into this one and trace it through about six different subsidiaries and holding companies." Logan's fingers raced across the keyboard "The guy who owns everything is William J. Raffray."

Josef froze. William Raffray was the name he used when he was mining for gold in Canada. _Could this be some kind of coincidence? _Josef didn't believe in those. "Do you have a picture of him?" He asked in a sharp tone.

Logan could feel the tension from Josef, and busied himself trying to find more information. "Uh, here's the only one I can find. It's a group picture, but I can blow up that portion into a headshot. It'll be a little grainy ….."

Josef stared at the computer screen, getting closer for a better look as Logan brought up the photo. It couldn't be, not after all this time. _Shit. It looked like him_. Josef felt sick. It was him; it was Jared Gibson, his partner who had supposedly died the true death all those years ago.

"Could you email all that to my office address?" He said tightly. Josef pulled himself together to thank Logan and went to his car. He sat in the Ferrari thinking about what happened to Jared. _How was he still alive?_ Josef remembered the last time they had seen each other up in Dawson when they were closing out their gold mines. Jared had gone missing in a storm and disappeared completely. While Josef searched the weather closed in, forcing him to stay another winter. When the spring came, he had to get out of Dawson; he was close to being exposed as a vampire by a jealous saloon girl. He took their acquired wealth and went to Chicago to start a new identity.

He shook his head, clearing his mind. As he put the car into gear the smooth-running engine soothed him. He needed to get up to that office and see Jared for himself. He was about to call Mick to get the address when he got a text from Simone to get back to his office. _Damn, what now?_ He thought.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Beth drove, trying not to let tears obscure her vision. She left Josef's office and mercifully found her loaner car. With no direction in mind, she continued to drive through the night. Her life was shattered and she didn't know where to turn or what to do. She knew she needed blood but she couldn't go back to the loft and she didn't want to go to one of the clubs in her current state. She pulled into a parking lot and tried to think. She couldn't go to a regular hotel—no freezer. Beth knew she would need one along with the blood.

She didn't want to call any of her friends; she didn't want to have to tell them what happened and replay the whole nightmare. Even if she went to Josef's she'd have to endure Simone's sympathy. She knew there were a couple vamp-friendly hotels, but they wouldn't have blood. Finally, she thought of someone that could help.

Opening her cell phone, she dialed the number in use all over the world to contact the Cleaners. The call was answered immediately. _"Name and location_."

"Um, I'd like to speak to Annie, please." Trying to keep her voice steady.

There was a silence on the other end and Beth knew she'd probably broken a zillion vampire protocols. "If she's not there, could you get her a message? It's rather important." Beth continued.

"_Yes, what's the message?"_

Beth gave them her name and number, and hoped that Annie would be able to call her quickly. She sat back in the seat, and thought if she didn't get a call back soon, she would have to go to Josef's house after all. After a few minutes, her phone rang with an unknown number. "Hello?" She answered.

"_Beth?"_ Annie's voice came weakly from a bad connection.

"Hi, I'm sorry to bother you, but I was hoping you could help me."

"_Sure. I take it this isn't a regular Cleaner call?"_

"No," Beth took a deep breath. "I need some blood and a place to stay for the day."

_This isn't good_, Annie thought. There must be something really wrong. But, she owed Mick and she liked Beth. "_I'm helping out the crew in Northridge, but I'll be done in a few minutes. If I text you the address, can you find it?"_

"Yes." Beth said, relieved. Her borrowed car had a GPS unit.

"_Great, I'll send you the pass code to get into the underground parking garage. If you get there before me, just wait and I'll find you." _ Annie said reassuringly.

"Okay, see you there." She felt relieved as she waited for the text. At least she had a place to stay and maybe she could start to pick up the pieces of her life.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"You're going to have to buy Josef new carpet if you keep that up." Simone commented.

Mick didn't respond, continuing to pace up and down in Josef's office. Simone sent Josef a message to return as soon as he could and she was having a hard time keeping Mick quiet until he showed up. At least she had gotten him to drink some blood, and that calmed him for a short time. Now he was roaming like a caged animal, even growling occasionally. He stopped momentarily and looked at Simone. "I have to find her."

"Mick, we've called everyone, even her human friends. They've all promised they'd call me, at least to say she's safe."

"She probably won't want to talk to me." he exclaimed, his agony apparent. He had hurt her, hurt his Beth. They were mated not only though love, but also through their vampire bond. Now he had destroyed what they had, and he didn't even remember what had happened. He had called Logan and tried to trace the GPS on her phone, but it was turned off. That made him want to go out and scour the streets for her, but Simone wouldn't let him leave until he'd spoken to Josef. _Yes, he'd be talking to Josef, especially about those paparazzi photos_. Mick couldn't bring himself to be angry with Beth after what he had done, but Josef was another story.

The elevator dinged, and Josef came in, looking grim. He saw Simone sitting at his desk and felt her worry. He looked up at Mick, who seemed ready to blow up. "What happened?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

Simone sighed. "Lots," she started, "and none of it good."

Josef felt Mick's anger directed at him, and casually made his way to the bar, pouring them both a drink. "Okay, what's the problem? What have I done?"

Mick ignored the drink. "Those pictures, the ones that Foster took. Beth came to you and you had him killed, didn't you?"

It took him a moment to remember, then he shrugged. "Yup. He was a danger to you and all of us." His eyes glinted dangerously. "You know what I do in those situations."

"Yeah, and you got Beth involved—you both lied to me." Mick's almost yelled.

Josef continued to face him, not backing down. "That's your fault. She knew you'd be against dealing with that crook and it would put you at risk. She has a better grasp of the vampire world than you give her credit for." Josef swirled the bourbon in his glass. "Tell me, if it had been Simone coming to you to protect me, wouldn't you have done the same thing?"

At that, Mick's shoulders slumped, the anger draining away. He remembered what he had done to Tejada. "Yeah, probably." He muttered.

"Then we're good." Josef took another swig of his drink, noticing both Mick and Simone still radiating sadness. "What?"

Mick looked down at the carpet. "I screwed up. I don't remember, but I screwed up big-time." Mick recounted what had happened, and Simone filled him in on her side. Josef was amused that Simone would have the nerve to slap a vampire. _She is something,_ he thought proudly. His musings were interrupted by Mick.

"I have to go find her." He said distractedly.

Josef morphed into his step-sire mode. "And what will you tell her when you see her? _'Sorry honey, I was making out with Natalya, but I don't remember anything?'_ Uh-huh, that'll go over great."

Simone cracked a small smile, and Mick shook his head in frustration.

"Just a minute. Josef pulled out his phone and made a call. After an interval he was connected to Emmaline Martin in New York.

"_Josef_," she said gruffly. "_Did you find anything about the blood centers?"_

"I think so," he replied, "but that's not why I'm calling. I have an issue with Natalya and it's causing a major problem." When Josef was done explaining, there was silence. Then a soft "_Damn."_

"What is it Em?"

"_I've always suspected Natalya has more gifts than she lets on, and now I think she's able to glamour." _

"I wondered about that, but I thought it was a myth." Josef glanced at Mick, who looked puzzled.

"_It sounds like what happened to Mick. Dammit,_" she swore again, _"I told her to keep her hands off him." _

"You really think she could have done that? He can't remember a thing."

In New York, Emmaline sighed. _"From what I've heard, some of the old ones could mesmerize and alter memory. Most of the bloodlines that had those powers have died out, but Natalya was psychic before she was turned so it's probably a carry over from that. Where is she?"_

"Beth staked her and she's on ice for now."

He heard Emmaline chuckle. _"I warned Natalya not to piss off Beth. Keep her where she is and I'll be out tomorrow night to collect her. She hasn't violated any laws, but I'll get her out of your way_ "

"Tell her if she comes back to my region, I'll not only let Beth take her head, I'll help her." Josef said meaningfully.

Emmaline's voice became hard. "_She'll understand when I'm done with her. If she's causing trouble with her powers she won't be sponsored by the Council any longer. Please tell Mick and Beth I'm sorry. I'll let you know when my plane arrives."_

Josef ended the call and looked at Mick, knowing he heard all the conversation. Mick asked, "Do you think that's possible?"

Josef shook his head. "I don't know, but it explains everything that's gone on. I'd unstake her and ask, but I don't want Natalya running around loose. I'll let Emmaline handle her."

Simone hadn't heard the conversation, but knew Josef would fill her in later. "C'mon Mick. Come home with us and get some freezer time."

Mick started pacing again. "I need to find Beth." he repeated.

Josef looked at him and knew Mick would drive himself to exhaustion and they had no idea where Beth was. He dialed a private number that only a select few had. "Bella?"

"_Yes, Josef."_ The head Cleaner responded.

"Can you ask your crews to be on the lookout for Beth Turner? She and Mick have had a little disagreement and she left, probably driving. I know you don't usually do this, but she's young and Mick's worried." Josef proceeded to give Beth's company car information, hoping they'd spot her somewhere in the metro area.

"_Okay, Josef. Wait a moment and I'll let the guys know_." He was put on hold and then Bella's voice came back, "_No need to look for her. Apparently, she called and left a message for Annie."_ Bella gave Josef Annie's private number.

"Thanks, Bella. I owe you." Bella laughed as she hung up. "_What else is new, Josef? See you." _

"I think Beth is with Annie." Josef said for Simone's benefit.

Mick jumped up. "Let me call her."

Josef held up his hand. "Let me call first." He punched in the numbers and heard Annie answer softly.

"It's Josef Kostan. I'm looking for Beth Turner, is she with you?"

"_Huh. Who wants to know? Is Mick with you?"_ Annie asked suspiciously.

"Yes, and as Elder, I'm asking."

Annie sighed_. "She's here but I just got her settled in the freezer and she needs to sleep. She's had a rough time."_

Mick now grabbed the phone from Josef. "Annie, is she all right?" He asked anxiously.

"_She's calmed down now, but I'm about ready to take a flame thrower to you, St. John." _

"Stand in line—Simone already slapped the hell out of me." Mick said without humor. "Would you tell her I'm worried and to call me please?" He handed the phone back to Josef with a sad look.

"Annie," Josef began, "let me tell you what I think went on here tonight. Mick needs to explain to Beth. Could you tell her she needs to talk to him?" He let Annie know their theory about Natalya's gifts.

After getting Annie's assurance she'd speak to Beth, Josef hung up. "Okay. We know Beth is all right and in good hands. No more to do here tonight." Josef glanced out the shaded windows to see the dawn breaking over the skyline. "Time to get some rest, buddy."

Simone had gone to her office to get her things, and stood at the door. "Let's go guys. You need some blood and I need my beauty sleep." She was thankful she didn't have any meetings on her agenda for today. Normally she kept to a modified human schedule, but tonight was an emergency.

Mick got up reluctantly. "I'll go back to the loft …"

Simone went up to him, taking his arm. "No, you're staying with us. We have extra freezers and lots of room."

Josef grinned at Mick. "Don't mess with her, Mick. She gets cranky without sleep."

Mick smiled back at them and rubbed his cheek. "Yeah, once was enough."

Simone smirked and turned off the lights as they left.

TBC

_**Now they know about Natalya, but Mick and Beth still have to talk. Also, Josef needs to find Jared Gibson, aka William Raffray but that might not be so easy. I'm going to be out of town next week and can't take my laptop, but will update as soon as I get back. Thanks for reading!**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Finally, Mick and Beth get to talk to work things out. I appreciate all of you who keep reading~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**_

Chapter 12

Beth woke in a strange freezer with an antiseptic smell instead of the comforting scent of her sire and lover. It was the third time she'd woken that day, and all of last night's events crowded in on her. Trying to sleep further was impossible, so she popped the lid of the freezer and lifted herself out. Normally, Mick picked her up in his arms when they rose, and she had to bite back a sob. She looked around the room and noticed that Annie had put out some clean clothes on a nearby chair. She pulled on the sweats and sat down. Her mind went back to earlier when Annie found her crying in her car in the underground parking for the upscale high rise where several of the Cleaners lived.

She found she didn't mind talking with Annie, the auburn-haired Cleaner had seen too much and was able to listen without comment. Beth didn't reveal the reason for her fight with Mick: the Dean Foster photos. Since Josef was involved, Beth didn't want to talk about those, but did tell Annie about what had happened with Mick and Natalya.

Annie found it hard to believe that Mick would do something like that, but she didn't know anything about Natalya. After all the emotional upheaval Beth was flagging, even though Annie made sure there was enough blood. She finally persuaded Beth to try to rest and got her into the extra freezer that was kept for visiting Cleaners.

Now, Beth sighed and wondered what she should do. She was vampire and was attached to her sire, and she didn't know if he even wanted her. She replayed the scene in her mind when she staked Natalya and Mick just sat there, ignoring her. Once again, she needed movement to dull the pain and walked out into the main room. It was a large loft area and Beth wondered if most vampires needed spacious places to live. Except for Logan, she thought dryly. Annie didn't seem to be around, so Beth wandered around the room.

Annie woke suddenly when she heard the slight noise coming from the other room and rose up from her freezer holding her Glock. She relaxed when she remembered she had a houseguest, a guest who apparently wasn't sleeping. Annie quickly slipped on some clothes and found Beth roaming aimlessly around her condo.

"Beth." Annie said.

Beth started, "Oh, hi." She responded sadly.

"You should be sleeping."

Beth shrugged. "I can't get back to sleep. Sorry if I woke you."

Annie walked over to the UV protected window and looked out over the cityscape. "I don't need that much sleep. When we get older we don't have to be in the freezer for very long."

Beth nodded absently as Annie got both of them some blood. "Here, why don't you sit down?"

Beth complied, drinking and staring at the floor sadly.

Annie sipped her blood and studied the young vampire with a sigh. Beth had strength and determination, and Annie knew from her unplanned turning that she had courage. Beth also had something Annie didn't have—someone who loved her. Annie hadn't had that in many years and certainly not from her sire that had turned then abandoned her. She had wandered around large cities, working in vampire clubs then as security for several rich vamps. Finally, she became a Cleaner about a hundred years ago and found her calling. Being a Cleaner was lonely, not many men wanted such a forceful woman and she wasn't interested in the ones who wanted a dominatrix.

She put down her glass and looked over at Beth. "Josef called while you were sleeping."

Beth came out of her daze. "Is he all right? Mick didn't…."

"Mick was with him, and Josef was fine. As a matter of fact, I also spoke with Mick briefly." Annie said casually.

"What did he say?" Beth sat up, fully awake.

"Just that he was worried and he wanted to talk to you."

Beth's lips drew into a line. "I bet he does."

"I think you should." Beth looked at her speechless. Annie continued, "Josef told me that they think Natalya can glamour, you know, vamps and humans."

"What? What's that?"

Annie got up and paced a moment. "I've heard of it, some vamps can hypnotize and make you do things, and then make you forget. I don't know of any that can do it today, but centuries ago when it was harder to find willing donors, vampires used it to get blood from humans without them knowing. Josef thinks that maybe Natalya has that ability and tried it on Mick."

"You mean make Mick fall in love with her, make him…." She didn't want to say it out loud; it was too upsetting to think about. "And Josef buys into this?" She said skeptically. "Sounds like a male 'get out of jail free' excuse to me."

"Well," Annie said grinning, "if I hadn't heard about it before, that's exactly what I'd think. Men do tend to be ruled by their little heads. He says he doesn't remember anything about what happened with Natalya. He doesn't even remember you being there."

Beth turned this over in her mind. If that was the case and Mick wasn't a willing participant it would explain why he ignored her. She remembered how stupefied and unfocused he was when she saw him. Her anger welled up. Now she wished she had done more than stake that bitch Natalya—she violated Mick and their relationship. "How was Mick when you talked to him?"

Annie quirked an eyebrow. "He sounded fine, but I could feel how upset and worried he was about you. Whatever happened, Beth, you need to talk to him."

Beth got up; it was her turn to pace. "I know. We still need to figure out our original fight, before all this happened." She sighed. "Most of the time we don't talk that much, we tend to know what the other is thinking."

Annie nodded, wondering what that was like. "Why don't you go home and see him?"

Beth stopped her pacing and shook her head. "I don't want to go home, not yet. I can't talk to him there, too many emotions and memories. I won't be able to concentrate."

"Why don't you have him come here? I've got to go to HQ before I head back to Northridge for my shift tonight. I'll let the concierge know to expect him."

Beth really smiled. "Thanks, Annie that would help. Are you sure we won't be imposing? I don't want to banish you from your own home."

Annie waved aside her concerns. "It's fine."

Now that Beth felt a little better, her inquisitive mind kicked in. "So, where is your headquarters? It is just for Cleaners?"

"We have our offices in a warehouse downtown. We have enough room to house quite a few vamps in case of emergency. We also keep our armaments there." Annie said casually.

"Armaments?"

"Yeah, we keep a pretty good supply. You never know when it's going to be needed. We have the capability to make our own silver cartridges, and other weapons to stop either vamps or humans. Bella and Josef want us to be prepared. We know we have the largest vamp population on the west coast and besides cleaning; it's our job to keep everyone safe."

Beth was impressed and her respect increased for the important job the Cleaners had. She glanced out the window into the blazing afternoon and suddenly felt tired. It would be several more hours before she could call Mick and for the first time she felt like she could sleep. "I think I'll lie down for a while longer before I call Mick."

Annie smiled warmly. "Good idea. I'll probably be gone when you get up, so make yourself at home. Don't worry about using the blood in the fridge, I'm bringing more home later. I'll be on the late shift again and won't be home until dawn."

Beth gave Annie a small hug. "Thanks for everything."

Annie drew back a little, not used to being hugged. "Just fix things with that man of yours. We might be immortal, but even our lives are too short to be angry at the ones we love."

xxxxxxxxx

Simone watched Josef sleep and thought how young he looked when he dropped his vampire mask. He was a maddening paradox of sentiment and ruthlessness, not hesitating to kill, but would go all out to help a friend. Tonight he had been firm with Mick, keeping his mind on the investigation of the bombings and not allowing him to brood about Beth. Josef explained to both of them about his old partner from Canada, and what had happened a century ago. Mick had agreed they needed to find out more about him and would get Logan on it.

Josef opened his eyes, looking into hers. "You're thinking so loud it's waking me up." he said smiling, touching her cheek. "What's the matter?" He pulled her closer to him, feeling her body heat along his side.

Simone sighed. "I didn't mean to wake you, but you need your freezer soon anyway."

"That's not what you were thinking." He squeezed her shoulder and Simone smiled to herself. He knew her every bit as well as she knew him.

"I'm worried about you going up to see that Jared Gibson. If he's been blowing things up and manipulating the blood supplies, he sounds dangerous. Make sure you take some of the guys with you." Josef had a considerable security force of vampires.

"I will. I just need to find out if it really is Jared." He rubbed his hand over his face. "If it is him, why didn't he contact me? Is he really behind all this?"

Simone took his hand. "Stop. You won't figure this out until you see him. Now go get some rest. I'm kicking you out of the bed." She kissed him and Josef gave her one last pat on the butt as he rolled out of bed and stretched out in the cold void of his freezer. He sighed as he got comfortable. He also had Natalya to worry about. He was enraged at what she did to Mick, and all he wanted to do was chain her in silver and put her out in the sun for a few days. He was tired of vampires coming into his territory and getting away with whatever they wanted. First Lola and now this. As Elder he had to protect his people, and all this political maneuvering with the Council was ruining his ruthless reputation. He hadn't killed anyone in months …..

xxxxxxxx

It was a little after dark when Beth finally picked up her phone to call Mick. She left her phone on, half hoping he would call her but then she realized he would wait for her to contact him when she was ready. He answered on the first ring. "Beth?"

"Hi, Mick." she said a little shakily.

"Are you all right?"

His voice sent ripples to her very core and made her body ache for him. "I'm fine, I guess."

At the other end, Mick didn't respond, afraid to say anything that would make things worse. There was so much he wanted to say and he didn't know how to start.

"Mick?"

"I'm here, sweetheart."

"I—I think we'd better talk."

Mick sighed in relief. "I'm at Josef's but I can be home in half an hour."

"No, I don't want to see you at home. I'm at Annie's and she's out for the night. Come over here." She gave him the address. "They'll let you in at the lobby."

Mick was concerned she wasn't ready to come back to the loft, but was happy she was at least willing to talk to him. He ended the call and headed out for the city.

Beth waited nervously for Mick's arrival. She had changed into the clothes she was wearing the previous night, and tidied up as much as she could. Her decision to meet somewhere other than the loft prohibited her being able to get to her things so she had to make due with what she had with her.

The doorbell rang, and she knew it was Mick. She opened the door and saw a dozen red roses and their sweet scent washed over her. As her gaze moved upward, she saw Mick and her heart seized as it always did when he was near. She could feel the tension come off him, mixed with guilt and hope. His eyes bored into her, and she felt herself melting.

"Come in." she said, backing away, trying to keep a coherent thought. _This is why I wanted to meet here_, she thought. _At the loft I would just jump into his arms and rip off his clothes. _

Mick put the flowers down and Beth took a moment to admire them. "Thanks, they're lovely."

He smiled uncertainly. "Beth, I wanted to tell you how sorry I am about….about what happened." She could feel the remorse coming from him, but waited for him to continue. "I didn't know what was going on, I swear." He said, wanting Beth to believe him.

Beth moved further into the condo, with Mick following her. "Annie said that this woman…." Beth couldn't bring herself to use the name, "can hypnotize people or something. Is that possible? Is that what happened?"

Mick shook his head. "I don't know, Josef says it is. I don't recall her doing anything odd, she was just talking to me. That's the last I remember until Simone was yelling and slapped me."

Beth raised her eyebrows. "Simone slapped you?" she asked, with a small smirk.

"Yeah, she got me good." He felt a little of the tension leave Beth. "She called me a few names, too."

Now Beth turned away. "Mick," she whispered, "you have no idea how that hurt me, and how I felt when I saw you with that woman…."

He felt her anguish and wanted to take her in his arms, but didn't know if he'd be welcome. "I know, baby, I'm sorrier than I can say. I would never hurt you, and you have to believe I wouldn't knowingly cause you any pain."

She turned to him then, and felt all his love and she wanted to respond back. She nodded, her eyes serious. "I believe you Mick. I don't know what she did, but I know you wouldn't just run off with her."

With a huge grin, Mick swept her up in his arms kissing her. It felt wonderful to Beth and she responded, forgiving Mick but then remembered the other thing they had to talk about. He felt her love sweep through him, and in his happiness and relief he crushed her to him. Then he felt her withdraw a little. He saw her serious look and put her down. "I know it will take some time to forgive me, baby, but you know how much I love you. You're the only one—"

Beth stopped him by putting her finger on his lips. He took her hand and looked down at her. "Mick," she said softly, "we need to talk about those pictures. I kept them secret from you …. I meant to tell you, but with everything that happened, then my turning, I just didn't." She looked down sorrowfully.

He tilted her chin up to look at him. "It's all right, Beth. I understand I was angry at first, I thought Josef had talked you into something you didn't understand."

"I wanted to protect you, like you always did for me. I guess I knew what Josef would do, but I didn't care. I didn't mean to lie to you."

He shook his head, turning and walking a few steps away. Beth felt his uneasiness as he faced her. "I know you were trying to protect me. I don't have that excuse for what I did. I'm guilty of keeping something from you, too."

She looked at him curiously, but didn't speak. He took an unneeded breath and continued. "After Josh died you were so hurt and it tore me apart to see you that way. I wanted to make Tejada pay, he made it personal. I found him at a bar and ripped his throat out. I knew the cops wouldn't get him; he had too much power and money. The Cleaners took care of it. H.E.M. and the DA think he took off to South America."

Mick looked at Beth pleadingly. "I told you I'd done things I wasn't proud of, but they were all in the past. I didn't want to tell you about Tejada—I didn't want you to think I was a monster."

Her eyes welled with tears and she threw her arms around his neck. "I've never thought that, Mick. You've always been my guardian angel and I love you."

Mick felt her absolute love for him and wrapped his arms around her with a growl, nuzzling her neck, taking in her scent. She kissed his cheek, and soon they were entangled in each other's lips, grinding into each other. He wanted to claim her, show her that he was only hers, and her possessive vampire emerged needing to establish her territory and her mate. Mick started to tug at her clothes but with a last shred of sanity, she pulled away. "No Mick." She gasped. He looked at her confused as she said. "This is Annie's place, and I don't want to make love all over her furniture. You know she'll be able to smell it."

Mick raised his eyebrows and smirked. "Don't know if I can wait until we get home."

"You'll have to." Beth said laughing as she gathered her things. "Remember, there are cameras in the garage, so you can't try anything in the car either." She hurried out the door with Mick following closely, admiring the view.

TBC

_**Couldn't have Mick and Beth be apart for too long!**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Not quite done with Mick and Beth. I promised a little make up scene, so here it is. And then it took a while to figure out what to do with Natalya. Thanks to all who have read the story. Hope you enjoy~~~~~~~~~~~~ **_

Chapter 13

Mick found it difficult to concentrate on driving when Beth sat so closely beside him. It got worse when it seemed all the traffic lights were against him, every single one of them changing to red just as they approached. Beth didn't make it easy for him when she moved a hand to rest on his knee, sliding it very slowly and very deliberately up over his thigh in a light caress. He glanced at her but her attention was seemingly fixated on the window and not on what she was doing to him. Her fingers danced so close then skittered away, his flesh jumping at the light pressure of her stroking fingers.

"Beth..."

She still didn't turn her head to look at him but he could see the smirk on her lips reflected in the window she was gazing out of. Her fingers continued to tease him, and he tightened his hands on the steering wheel. When he hit the brake a little too hard at the next set of lights, she let her hand slip away to rest on his knee.

He pulled up in the building garage, parking rather sloppily. He turned to her – to grab her, to kiss her – but found Beth had already opened the car door and was halfway to the elevator by the time he composed himself enough to follow. She held the doors open, giving him a wicked smile. As soon as the doors closed, she surprised him and pushed him into the wall, her hands snaking up under his shirt. He made a noise between a moan and a growl, and pulled her into a kiss, both of them letting their fangs clash. _It's a good thing this is a private elevator_, Mick thought. She ground against him, feeling his hardness and dragging her nails against his chest as he assaulted her mouth.

She stopped for a moment. "You belong to me, Mick," she told him softly but sternly, "No one else." All she wanted to do was mark him as hers, but the next moment the alpha male in him reared up and he shifted, slamming her around into the wall.

"I love you, Beth." He said as he dragged his fangs across her neck and she pressed her body into him. They reached the top and finally noticed the doors had opened, almost falling into the hallway. After Mick unlocked the loft door, Beth drew herself away from him and stood at the bottom of the stairs.

Mick watched her take off her jacket. He leaned against the fireplace so he could study her every move, eyes glued to her as she reached for the buttons on her shirt, undoing them one by one. His eyes were bright with hunger and she met his gaze with her own. Dropping her blouse, she unzipped her skirt and slowly eased it off her hips. Clad now in just lacy underwear, she swayed up the stairs. "Are you joining me, Mick? I hope you haven't forgotten what to do." She winked at him slyly and disappeared into the bedroom.

Mick snapped out of his lust-induced haze and sped up the stairs with vampire speed, capturing Beth from behind, pulling her to him. He whispered in her ear seductively, "Don't worry; I'm going to remember every moment of this and so are you."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The car door slammed so hard it hurt the driver's ears. He looked back at his passenger, who glared back at him. "Drive!" Josef Kostan growled. The vampire at the wheel took off out of the parking lot without asking where they were going.

Josef leaned his head back on the seat and tried to let go of his anger and frustration. It was early afternoon and he and several of his security team had taken two SUV's and headed up to William Raffray's office, north of Los Angeles. They found the small building and Josef went in, leaving two security guys in the lobby. They would be able to hear him if he needed help. He took the stairwell to the third floor, but found the door marked Yukon Investments locked and the office dark. He tried to peer in, but most of the blinds were closed. _Now what?_ he thought. He stalked back down the stairs and signaled for the guards to wait in the cars.

Looking around, he saw the company that occupied the first floor. He walked through the door marked ATD Resources, and stopped at the reception desk. A pretty blond smiled tentatively at him. "May I help you?"

He gave her his most disarming look, noting the nameplate on her desk. "Hello, Teresa. I'm trying to find the offices for Yukon Investments. I thought they were in this building."

Teresa smiled. "They're on the third floor, but I think they may have closed."

"Oh, why?"

She shook her head. "I don't know, they didn't say why."

"Any idea where they might have gone? A phone number or anything?"

Teresa looked at him speculatively. "They didn't leave a number. Are you a bill collector or something?"

He smiled easily at her. "No, nothing like that. I have some investments with them and it's making me a little nervous that I can't reach anyone at the company."

"Oh," Teresa nodded sagely. "I guess I'd be worried, too. Before they left, they asked me to collect their mail and save it for them. One of the guys said he'd be back to pick it up."

Tamping down his excitement, Josef said, "Well, if you hear from them could you give me a call?" He heard the woman's heartbeat speed up as he leaned a little closer. "I'd really appreciate it."

"Sure." she said, blushing slightly. Josef took out a business card, jotting a number down on the back and handing it to her. "Here's my private number, I'm available any time."

Nodding, she put the card carefully in her desk drawer, glancing at it briefly. "Should I tell them you're looking for them?"

"No, if you let me know, I'll contact them."

She nodded. "I'd be happy to, Mr. Kostan." Teresa wasn't against helping the charming, handsome man, and she hoped he'd come back.

Thanking her Josef left, his face turning grim as he got into the SUV. It was a slim lead, but the only one they had for now. Raffray could be anywhere, and Josef doubted he'd left the city. At least the blood supplies were safe for the moment. The vampire community was inconvenienced but not starving.

Josef relaxed a bit more in the back of the car when his cell rang. "Kostan." he said sharply. He heard the voice of his assistant, Deborah. _"Ms. Martin just called and will be at the office in about an hour." _

Josef scrubbed his hand across his face. "All right, I'm heading back now. Ask James to check on Ivanovich and wait for me in my office, will you?"

"_Of course_." Deborah replied "_I'll have some refreshments ready."_

Josef smiled briefly to himself. His assistant was a jewel, nothing seemed to rattle her. "Thanks, D. I'll be back shortly." He quickly texted Simone with an update, knowing she would be in a meeting, but he didn't want her to worry. He hung up and put the Raffray problem away in his mind, concentrating on the next issue, Natalya Ivanovich.

Emmaline Martin said she wanted to take Natalya out of the way, but Josef was determined there would be some payback. For Natalya to use her powers to enslave another for her own amusement was unacceptable in Josef's eyes. He wanted Emmaline to know that there should be retribution for the psychic vampire's transgressions. He didn't care that Natalya had helped find William Raffray, her other actions deserved punishment.

Josef entered his office, seeing Deborah sitting at her desk. "D, when Ms. Martin gets here, please show her in, then you can call it a night. " She nodded and went back to her computer.

James was waiting for Josef in his office and stood when his boss entered. Josef threw his Armani jacket on the sofa and sat heavily behind his desk. After a moment, he looked at James. "How is our guest?" He asked.

"Still staked as you instructed, boss. She's secure in one of the back rooms. We sent someone down to the condo to let her freshies know not to wait for her."

Josef smirked grimly. "Good. I'm expecting the head of the Council shortly, so be ready when I call."

"Yes, sir." James left and Josef sat back, trying not to let his frustrations over the current events overwhelm him. A chirp of the intercom and Deborah said, "Ms. Martin is here."

Josef went to the door opening it to escort Emmaline into his office. "Hello, Josef." she said in her gravelly voice. Even though she was in Los Angeles for a problem, she had always been fond of Josef. He kept his region relatively problem free and didn't require the hand-holding that some other Elders needed.

"I'd say it's good to see you, Em, but under the circumstances….." Josef offered the Council leader some blood.

Emmaline sighed, "Yes, I know. Now what did you find out about the blood supplies?"

Josef detailed what they had discovered and his old partner might be responsible. Emmaline shook her head. "I don't know this vampire; it sounds like he's been operating under the radar for a while."

"I think so, too. My computer guys had a hell of a time back-tracking him. He's got some money and resources behind him." Josef took a long swig of his blood, then got up for something stronger from the bar. "We'll keep looking, he's bound to slip up or maybe even give up since we're monitoring the suppliers so closely."

"I hope so." Emmaline said shortly. "I've put the word out to other major population areas so the elders can watch for anything like what's happened here and in Seattle."

They sat silent for a moment. "Now to other business. You said that Beth Turner staked Natalya?" Emmaline asked, wryly.

"Yes. Beth came in and Mick was all over Natalya, but says he doesn't remember anything."

"Is she here?" Emmaline asked with a frown.

"Yes, she's still staked. I don't know what else she's capable of, but she messed up Mick pretty bad. As I told you, he has no memory of what happened. If she can manipulate vampires like that, she's dangerous. She doesn't seem to have any compunction in doing whatever she wants. A narcissistic vampire who can control others is a threat to the tribe." Josef crossed his arms, looking at Emmaline darkly.

Emmaline sighed and looked away. She always had a suspicion that Natalya had more powers than she let on, and Emmaline didn't press the point since Natalya was useful in other areas. Now the psychic diva had pushed the boundaries and Emmaline had to take action. "What do you want me to do, Josef?"

He got up to pace a minute. "I'd like to take her head so she can't cause anymore trouble, but that's probably not an option, is it?" He raised an eyebrow at Emmaline.

Emmaline shook her head, smiling slightly. "Same old Josef. No, we can't just lop off her head for this kind of transgression. I do have an idea."

A few minutes later, James escorted Emmaline and Josef into the locked room where Natalya lay on the floor. Josef saw her nose twitch as she picked up their scents.

"Natalya," Emmaline said, standing where the dark-haired vampire could see her. "you have caused some significant problems here. I warned you to stay away from St. John. Josef here would like to take your head, and I'm inclined to agree." Natalya growled softly.

Emmaline growled back. "Your punishment will be to remain staked for another two weeks. Use that time to reflect on what you did and how not to use your gifts."

"After that," Josef said coldly, "I'm putting you on a plane and telling you to never set foot in my town again."

Emmaline bent over to look Natalya in the eye. "Your sponsorship from the Council is ended and I will make sure the community knows about your glamouring abilities." Emmaline straightened up. "Be glad this is all you'll suffer. We don't like trouble makers, they are too easily traced by the humans. Remember what I've said, Natalya." With that, Emmaline swept out of the room with Josef, leaving James to lock up.

The two returned to Josef's office, and now Emmaline had a brandy. "I'm sorry all this happened, Josef. Natalya has been useful before when we had hunters in Toronto and Hong Kong last year."

Josef nodded. "I understand, but obviously she can't be trusted. I'll make sure she's escorted to the airport and send her on my jet to New York. You can see that she gets out of your city." He turned to her. "I have accommodations ready if you'd like to rest."

Emmaline finished her drink. "This was just my first stop on the way to Seattle. With the blood situation there, we are reevaluating whether or not the Elder should be replaced." Her mouth settled into a grim line. "He allowed his people to be at risk."

After Emmaline left, Josef sighed, feeling all of his 400-plus years. He leaned back in the leather chair and took out his phone, dialing Simone. Just thinking of her made the night brighter.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The house in the upscale part of Beverly Hills was dark except for the basement. It had belonged to a faded movie star, and lately to a television producer who had overextended his finances. The downstairs had a movie theater, and large party area. William Raffray had converted it to suit his needs with several freezer rooms and an office. Right now the house held his two vampire assistants and the three strong-arm vampires he'd brought down from Seattle. They had fled from the building in the small town of Devore, north of LA. Raffray believed in having more than one place to live in an area, a lesson he learned the hard way.

He sat back at his desk, checking his computer for updates on Josef Kostan. He wished he had more contacts in the vampire community in LA, but anyone he approached was reticent about Kostan. He heard the upstairs doors closing and knew that Tommy and Al had returned from their jobs to purchase blood supply stores. Their footfalls on the steps were hesitant and he wondered what was wrong.

"Well?" he said impatiently, as the two came into view. "What did you get tonight?"

They both shuffled, not looking at him. Tommy spoke first. "Sorry, boss. We couldn't make any buys tonight."

Raffray stood, his eyes silvered. "What do you mean?"

"Um, boss, we tried. We went to four of the locations on the list and they were all closed down. Then we went to Blue Moon, that's the club we've been going to. We heard that all the blood is being routed through there and a couple of other places."

Al spoke up. "Yeah, they said they were on some kind of lockdown and only a few places would be distributing blood. And boy, did they have security everywhere. We didn't want to cause suspicion, so we bought some blood then left."

Raffray calmed himself and dismissed his minions with a wave. "Never mind, we'll figure something out." They left to go upstairs, glad to be excused.

So, Kostan had figured out what he was doing. He should have known the old vampire would be smart. Raffray poured himself some brandy and lit an expensive cigar. It looked like he would have to try something else. He had the manpower here, and money was coming in from the Seattle stores as well as his own personal fortune. He might not be a rich as Josef Kostan, but he had enough to make his revenge work. He would bet that Kostan had upped the security around his office and home, so it would be difficult to try setting any bombs there.

Raffray turned to his laptop and checked out some of the local Los Angeles websites. Moving quickly through the entertainment section, he focused on local personalities until he found a picture of Josef Kostan leaving a charity event a few weeks ago. On his arm was an attractive auburn-haired woman, smiling at Kostan. As he studied the picture more closely, he noted she was wearing a large ring on her left hand. Hmmm. Raffray mused. I need to find out if she's a vamp, a freshie or an exclusive. He paged through more websites and found a few more pictures of Kostan, all with the same woman.

Raffray dialed his phone. "Tommy, you and Al get down here." He heard commotion from the upstairs and both vampires appeared in front of him in seconds. "Yeah boss?" Tommy said, hoping they weren't in trouble.

"New plan, boys." Raffray turned the computer on his desk. "See this woman? She's with Josef Kostan. Find out all you can about her. Ask around at the clubs, but be discrete. Kostan is the Elder here, so there should be a lot of gossip floating around about him. Use the real estate funds, pretend to be out of town tourists looking for a good time, buy drinks for the vamps, get 'em relaxed and talking. Got it?"

Al and Tommy looked at each other, it was a dream assignment and they couldn't wait to get started. Raffray watched them go, satisfied that they would be able to find out more than he could on the computer. Once he had more information, he would decide what to do with it.

TBC

_**It looks like the bad guy won't stop, but what will he do next? Sorry to those who wanted Natalya dismembered—I couldn't quite do it, but that may not stop Beth!**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Thanks for your support; I'm glad you like the story. Here's a little more with Mick and Beth. **_

Chapter 14

The only noise in the room was the muted hum of the freezer when Beth came awake suddenly, as usual. She ran her eyes over the profile of her unconscious mate and smiled to herself as she watched him. Mick's hair and eyelashes were covered in frost, showing her what he might have looked like if he ever aged. She tightened her arm around him imperceptibly and was glad they wouldn't lose each other to human old age and death.

Of course Beth knew that even vampires could die, but she was determined to do what was needed to keep them together for the 'forever' she wanted with the vampire she loved.

She felt Mick start as he awoke. He turned his head, his arms pulling her further onto him. "Morning, sweetheart." His lips brushed her forehead.

"Hmmmm." she responded, kissing his neck.

"What a nice way to wake up, even if you're using me as a pillow."

She giggled, looking at him mischievously, "That's what men are good for—car maintenance and pillows."

He snorted, popping the freezer lid, jumping out. He lifted her, enjoying holding her close to him. Since they had worked out the problem with Natalya, they seemed to be even closer in their connection and he was going to enjoy every moment. He was also happy they had shared their secrets about Dean Foster and Tejada. There was nothing between them now but their own happiness. "Care to join me in the shower?" He winked at her.

Beth sighed, putting her arms around Mick's neck drawing her fingers through his luscious hair, brushing away the last traces of frost. She kissed him saying, "Tempting as that sounds, if we get started in the shower I'll be late for my meeting with Guillermo.

"Why does he get to spend more time with you than I do?" He questioned with a mock pout.

Beth ran her hands down Mick's arms then around his waist, pulling him closer to her. Her fangs descended and she scraped his chest lightly. "It's quality, not quantity that matters Mr. St. John." Mick returned her gesture by kissing her gently before reluctantly freeing her. "All right beautiful, you shower first, I'm going to eat."

Beth turned away with a sultry glance at Mick, and then laughed as he flashed fang at her. In the shower she remembered how his hands had felt on her last night and it wasn't the cold water making her shiver. _Stop thinking that or you won't leave the loft tonight._ She focused on her upcoming meeting with Guillermo. They had decided to go ahead and find another location for the blood donation center since the original building had been mostly destroyed and would take too long to rebuild. Guillermo found another site, also close to the campus and it was for sale. Josef's company quickly purchased it and they were working on the remodel. Beth rinsed her hair and stepped out of the shower to find a glass of blood ready for her. Mick had showered in the downstairs bathroom and was pulling on a Henley as Beth came out of the master bath with her glass. "Nice." She said eyeing him appreciatively. Mick gave her that small smile she loved, and then turned serious. "Josef called a few minutes ago." Mick filled her in on what happened with Josef's old partner and that his office had been abandoned. "We don't have any leads, but we can keep looking."

Beth dressed, combing out her long hair, letting it dry in loose curls. "I wish you guys would find this Raffray. We're starting construction on the new store as well as the second one and I want them to be safe."

"I know." Mick said as they walked downstairs. "I want him out of the way, too." He put his arm around her. "Since you're working with the stores, I don't want anything else happening to you."

Beth put her glass down on the kitchen counter. "I'll be fine, Mick. You know we have security guys at the site all the time while we're building and also when it opens. Believe me; I have no desire to be toast."

She felt his reluctance when he turned again to her. "Um, Josef also told me that Emmaline Martin came out and she's having Natalya stay staked for the next for two weeks."

Beth grimaced for a moment. "Then what?" She knew he still felt guilty, but she had to find out the details.

"Then Josef is getting her out of town but I don't know what will happen after that."

"Good." Beth sniffed. "All I know is that if she comes anywhere near you again I'm going to put my sword training to good use."

"I don't want anything more to do with her. She reminds me too much of Coraline."

"Another reason to keep the sword handy." Beth said determinedly.

Mick hugged her to him. "Good thing you're here to protect me from unwanted women."

"You better believe it."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Damn, man!" The vampire looked down at the torn body with a little awe. "Why'd ya hafta rip his throat out?"

The other vampire indicated his bloody shirt. "Shit, he knifed me! What was I supposed to do?" He rubbed his stomach and the quickly healing wound. "He ruined the shirt, dude."

The two vampires had been recruited by the Cleaners to watch Wilson, the serial killer. After Mick planted a camera in Wilson's hotel room, the vampires only had to watch at night when Wilson was out on the streets. The Cleaners recruited extra help to watch Wilson and had drafted the paparazzi vampire 'lost boys' that took out Dean Foster. Unfortunately, the thought of going undercover and doing surveillance went to their heads. They knew that Wilson preyed on teenagers, so they set themselves up as bait. They allowed Wilson to lure them to an abandoned building with the promise of drugs. They hadn't thought what to do with Wilson once they got him there and then Wilson had surprised the blond vamp by attacking him, thinking him an easy target. The blond responded with fangs and the killer became the victim and was now a problem for the two.

The young black vampire sighed and said, "The Cleaner is gonna be really pissed."

The blond vampire's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, I know. Guess I'd better call her." He looked at his partner. "You got a cigar?"

Bella picked her way though the trash in the building to view the body and glare at the two lost boys. "What the hell did you think you were doing?" She snarled at them. They shifted under her scrutiny.

"We were doing some spying, trying to get him to …"

Bella interrupted. "What? You guys thought you were James Bond or something? And put out that cigar, it's revolting."

The blond looked cowed and snuffed the stogie, but his partner said with spirit, "Hey, he tried to kill us. We were just defending ourselves."

Bella snorted. "If you idiots hadn't gotten him into this position, he wouldn't have tried it and you wouldn't have had to take him out." She shook her head. "All right, leave—I'll handle this." The two vamps took off with relief, vowing to stick to photography; it was a lot less hazardous.

After making some calls, Bella settled down to wait. Before she could have her team start any cleaning, she needed direction.

Ben Talbot was spending a quiet evening with Megan when he got the call from the Cleaner. Alarmed, Megan insisted on going with him. He was instructed where to park and not to call attention to himself as he found the right building. He was glad Megan was there with her enhanced night vision as there were no street lights in the area. Megan was able to scent Bella and they found her in the trash-filled room.

"Bella, what's wrong?" Megan asked

The Cleaner used a small light to show the dead killer. "It's Wilson."

Ben grimaced. It wasn't a pretty sight and he was glad he had a strong stomach. "What happened to him?"

"The two dim-wits who were supposed to watch him decided to play detective and when Wilson stabbed one of them they killed him."

Ben rubbed his hand over his face. "Are they all right?"

"Yes," Bella said disgustedly. "I sent them away. I need to know what to do with the body. We can make it disappear if that's what you want."

Megan felt Ben's worry and confusion. "I'm sorry, Ben. We didn't mean for this to happen, we just wanted to help."

"I know." he looked at Bella. "We can't have him just vanish. The families of his victims need closure. Can you cover it up so his death can be made public? I don't know if you can do it, it's pretty tough to hide anything from forensics these days."

Bella thought a moment. "It looks like nothing touched the bone, so a fire should answer our needs." She nodded crisply at Ben and Megan. "All right, I'll take it from here. You should be gone before my guys show up." She turned away, already talking on her phone.

Megan put her hand on Ben's sleeve. "Come on, let's go." They made their way out of the darkened building into the alley with a little more light.

Ben was silent, and Megan was a little anxious at his current mood. Ben thought he should be angry, but found he was glad. He knew Wilson was guilty but was unable to make the charges stick. Now Wilson was dead and would never hurt another child. It felt good to know there was one more dirtbag off the street. His feeling surprised him; he should have been outraged at the vigilante justice. He'd always gone by the book and followed the law but many criminals escaped justice. Instead, he was relieved that Wilson was no longer a threat. _I wish all the guilty scum could meet the same fate_. _It could be so easy with the vampires willing to help._ Wait. Did he just think that? He stopped, appalled at himself, the self he'd just seen. Did he really want that?

He drove in grim silence, Megan also quiet knowing he needed to think. She felt the emotions rolling off him and wasn't sure how to comfort him. Ben finally dragged himself from his inner thoughts and said, "Can I drop you off? I really need to get a few things done."

"Yes, of course." Megan said carefully. She looked at him, seeing his face fixed in a tense expression. "Will you let me know if there's anything else I can do?"

He nodded and when they reached Megan's condo, he turned to her. "Megan, I think we need a break—I need a break." The words just tumbled out and he tried to look at her but couldn't meet her eyes. "There's a lot going on right now and I need to sort things out. I'm sorry." Ben felt like a coward doing this to Megan, but he was on overload and had to be on his own to process all that had happened to him in the last few months.

It took all of Megan's centuries of experience to maintain a stoic face. "I understand." She said tonelessly. The pain she felt was as bad as when her sire died but she wouldn't let it show. "Take care of yourself, Ben." Then she quickly got out of the car before he could respond and made her way to her condo. She sat in the dark and willed herself to be calm to lock away the anguish that almost overwhelmed her.

Megan was brought out of her daze when she scented Bella outside her door. The Cleaner knocked and Megan wearily answered.

Bella looked at Megan sharply, feeling the devastation emanating from the older vampire. Bella was a Cleaner, but a woman first. Something was very bad. "Megan, what's the matter?"

Megan stepped aside as Bella entered, trying to regain some sense of normalcy and she knew the other woman could feel her emotions. "It's Ben. He doesn't want to see me anymore." Megan bit her bottom lip. "I think everything he's discovered about vampires has freaked him out."

Bella frowned. "Do you think he's a danger to us?"

Megan looked at the Cleaner with alarm. She knew what that meant. "I don't think he'd tell. It would affect too many people he cares about …..like Sofia and Beth."

_And you_. Bella thought. She nodded, sitting down. Megan sat across from her, trying to regain her composure.

"I just came by to tell Ben that we've set up a scene and tomorrow night there will be a fire in an abandoned house. Wilson will be found and they'll figure he was either doing a drug deal or squatting in the house. My people are thorough, there shouldn't be any questions."

Megan smiled weakly. "Thanks, Bella. Would you call Ben and let him know? I don't think he wants to hear from me."

"I'll call him." Bella looked at Megan sympathetically. It made her glad that she had had a steady partner for almost a century. Kate kept her grounded when her job as the head cleaner was stressful. If it weren't for Kate she doubted she could even do the job. Bella's life outside work was mundane; she dabbled in painting and spent time watching humans at their worst on trash TV.

Now, she got up to leave. She realized too much sympathy would cause Megan to break down, something neither of them wanted. Saying a quick goodbye, Bella got in her SUV and picked up her small laptop to find a telephone number. She dialed hoping there would be an answer.

"_Hello?"_

"Ewan, this is Bella. I was just over at Megan's and she's pretty upset. I thought you'd want to know. She could use some company." Bella hung up, knowing Ewan would take care of his sister.

Bella sighed as she drove toward home. She could feel the dawn coming and all she wanted now was to sit down with a glass of blood and watch Maury.

TBC

_**I promise we'll be getting to the bad guy soon, but Ben had some issues. Thanks for reading and reviewing, you guys rock!**_


	15. Chapter 15

_**Thanks again for all the great reviews, you guys help me be a better writer! Finally, Josef gets to confront the villain. Enjoy!**_

Chapter 15

The club was busy that night, as always. Blue Moon was a favorite of the local vampire population and even more so now that it was one of the main blood distributors in the area. William Raffray went to the bar, requesting a scotch and blood. When he got his drink he found a small table in the back away from the hustle of the main room. Raffray was a solitary vampire, but occasionally he felt the need to be with his own kind. He surveyed the room and saw Al and Tommy coming toward him slowly, detained by some other vampires. His underlings seemed to be well acquainted with many of the local vamps. He smiled to himself_,__just__what__they__were__supposed__to__do._

The two vampires sat near their boss, making sure they were out of hearing range from the others in the bar. "Hi, boss." Tommy said, smiling. He and Al had been having a great time partying while gathering the information their boss wanted.

"What do you have for me?"

Tommy leaned in closer. "That woman, boss, is human and Josef Kostan's fiancée. Her name's Simone Walker. They had a big engagement party a few months ago and he introduced her to the community. She's a lawyer and works for him at his company."

Raffray sat back digesting the information. If she's that close to Kostan, he'll be sure to come after her. He had a few ideas, and none of them would be pleasant for Kostan's human.

"All right." Raffray looked at Tommy. "Tie up the loose ends with the office and get ready to move. We'll be leaving LA shortly." Raffray looked around. "Is Eddie coming?"

"He said he'd be here soon." Al said helpfully.

"Okay, you guys mingle and get me anymore info you can on the Walker woman. I'll wait for Eddie. We have plans to make." He smiled maliciously.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Josef was only half paying attention to the crawls on the bottom of his computer screen relaying the daily Wall Street numbers. His cell rang and he absently answered, not checking the ID. "Kostan."

"_Uh,__Mr.__Kostan,__this__is__Teresa__Long__at__ATD__Resources.__You__stopped__by__a__while__ago__to__ask__about__Yukon__Investments?__"_ She said hesitantly.

Josef sat up quickly, snapping his fingers at his staff. Without a word they exited his office immediately. " Yes, Teresa." He responded, trying to keep the tension out of his voice.

"_Well, one of the guys from Yukon called and asked me to send them their mail collect Fed Ex. I have the address if you'd like it."_

_Gotcha!_ He thought triumphantly. "Yes, that would be appreciated." She gave him the address and Josef thanked the receptionist. He picked up the phone and pressed a button. "James, gear up, we've found Raffray. Get the guys together with the equipment."

He hung up, jotting down something on a notepad. As he left the office he handed the note to Deborah. "Send a dozen roses to Teresa at that company." She nodded as Josef called Rider. "Find out what you can about the address I'm texting you. We're on our way, so call me when you get the info." Josef rode the elevator to the garage, glancing at his Armani suit. He wasn't dressed for a full on assault, but he hoped it wouldn't come to that. Next, he called Mick.

"_Hey, Josef."_

"Where are you?"

Josef's tone brought Mick to attention. _ "__I__'__m__at__home,__what__'__s__up?__"_

"We've found an address for Raffray. We're on our way now, we can pick you up."

"_Okay,__are__we__going__in__hot?__"_ Mick questioned.

"I don't know what we'll find, so yeah, we may have to."

"_All right, I'll be ready." _

Josef hung up, shedding his jacket as he got to the garage. James was there with three other security guards, loading two SUV's with weapons and equipment. "We're just about ready, sir."

Josef nodded. "I've got Rider checking on the address, so we can figure out how we're going to do this." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't want to wait too much longer, I want to surprise them."

"I think we can handle it." James responded, looking over the vehicles. They climbed in and started driving. Josef's cell rang. "What do you have, Rider?" Josef answered.

"Sir, it's a house up Stone Canyon road, almost to the reservoir. It looks like it's got a few acres and it was sold about six months ago to a corporation. I can trace it if you give me a little time….."

Josef stopped him. "It doesn't matter. I need to know the layout and if you can find me plans of the estate, streets and access roads. We need to get in quietly." He glanced down and saw James's computer on the car seat. "Send anything you have to James."

"Yes, sir. I'll call and tell you when I send it."

The cars wound their way through the late-night streets, entering the garage at Mick's building. Mick was waiting for them, a large duffle bag over his shoulder. Josef almost smirked at the sight of Mick dressed in black with a dark bandana around his head. Mick opened the door and slung the bag in the back. Noting Josef's suit, he kidded, "A little formal for storming the castle?"

Josef rolled his eyes. "I wasn't expecting a ninja vampire, either."

"Yeah well, somebody's gotta watch your back. I don't plan on breaking in a new friend anytime soon." Mick smiled slightly, and then turned businesslike. "So, do we know what we're up against?"

Josef shook his head. "Rider's sending me what he can find on the guy's property. It's up one of the canyons and has some acreage."

"How many opposition?" Mick asked, trying to formulate a strategy.

"We're not sure."

Mick looked at him in alarm. "Josef, it's not like you to rush in without knowing the odds."

Josef looked grim. "I know, but I want to find him before he takes off again. Once we have the layout we can decide."

Mick wasn't happy with this, but the look on his friend's face kept him quiet. "I talked to Beth to let her know what's going on. She's with Guillermo and he wanted to come too, but they're with the architect over at the new store."

Josef nodded. "I think we've got enough guys and maybe I can talk to Raffray and keep things from getting out of hand."

"Do you think that will work?" Mick was interrupted by Josef's cell.

"Yes?"

"Josef, its Rider. I sent the plans of the house and satellite view of the area to the computer. Is there anything else you need?"

"That's fine for now. Thanks Rider." Josef clicked his phone shut and picked up the computer and said, "James, stop when we get to the canyon. We need to check out the place." James nodded and Josef pulled up the information on the computer. Mick leaned over and they saw the area. "It looks like there are a couple of ways in and out besides the front gate. We could—"

"No, Mick. I'm going in the front door." Josef said decidedly.

"What? You're going in there alone?"

"Of course not, I'm not that crazy." Josef smirked. "We'll have our guys get into the house, find out who's there and then I can try to talk to Raffray."

Mick scowled, not liking this one bit but knew Josef had made up his mind. "All right, but I'm coming in with you."

"Wouldn't have it any other way. And don't tell Simone what I'm doing." Josef replied knowingly.

"Okay, as long as you don't tell Beth I was stupid enough to go in with you." Mick countered.

"Deal."

The cars pulled up about a half mile from the house, and the group retrieved their weapons which would take down human or vampire. James distributed earbuds so they could talk and listen to each other. Mick was pleased that Josef had all the latest equipment. Josef and Mick would give the crew a half hour to gain access to the residence and gauge the situation before approaching the house.

The group all had a ration of blood to make sure they were at full strength. Mick was glad there was extra, in case of injuries. He'd brought his vampire med kit, but hoped it wouldn't be necessary. James and the security team left and started toward the estate. Mick and Josef stayed in the SUV and listened to the group's progress through the earbuds. James reported there was no obvious security aside from a fence around the property. A few minutes later, they had gotten into the house through an upstairs window. James informed them that they could smell at least half a dozen vampires, but there were no humans in the house.

"Stay upstairs," Mick commanded, "we don't want them scenting you. We're heading to the house now."

"Copy." James replied.

Mick stopped the car and opened the iron gates while Josef took out his earpiece. He didn't want Raffray to catch on there were more men around. Mick would keep his since it was more easily hidden by his hair.

The house looked rather unkempt and the front garden overgrown. A few lights shown from the downstairs rooms. Josef shrugged on his jacket, pulling on the sleeve and straitening his cuffs. Mick checked to make sure his 9mm with the silver loads was in his pocket. The other pocket had small stakes and a machete hung from his belt, covered by his long duster.

"Okay, guys, we're going in now." Mick said quietly, knowing the team would hear him.

Josef knocked on the door, with Mick behind him a few steps. The door opened, flooding the darkened porch with light. It was a younger vampire, not even as old as Mick. The vamp scented Josef's decay and expression and realized this wasn't a social call. He said over his shoulder, "Boss, there's someone here to see you, I think."

A face loomed up behind the vamp at the door, and his eyes went wide as he recognized Josef. His face split into a grim smile. "Come in gentlemen. Tommy," he addressed the young vampire, "please show our guests into the library."

Josef walked into a sparsely furnished room lined with bookcases and turned to face Jared Gibson, his one-time partner. It really was him, and Josef was hit by memories almost a century old.

Raffray gestured for them to sit down, but seem unsurprised when they both remained standing. "Really, Josef, you didn't need to bring a bodyguard."

Josef looked him in the eye. "He's my friend."

"I was your friend!" Raffray bellowed suddenly, all his anger coming to the surface. "You left me buried under three feet of ice for 20 years. You left me, took all the gold and never came back." Raffray was shaking with rage.

"Jared—" Josef started.

"It's William! William Raffray. You stole everything I had, so I took your name."

Josef could feel the instability in his old partner and hoped he could still deal with this peaceably. "I didn't know what happened to you. You went up to the camp and disappeared. We searched for months, and even used those dammed hounds that old Bailey had. Then winter came and we had to stop looking. The next spring I had to get out of Dawson, too many people were getting suspicious."

Raffray stood, still seething with his fists clenched at his side. "You could have come back, you could have looked again. It was almost twenty years before the big summer thaw unfroze me and I was found. It's taken me all this time to locate you, and now you're going to die."

The air in the room became charged and Raffray's men looked at him for instructions. Raffray's eyes had turned, and he jumped at Josef, snarling and biting. The other four in the room didn't hesitate, although Tommy and Al weren't really well-trained in fighting techniques. Before Mick could pull out his gun, one of the other vampires shot first . Mick twisted out of the way, but the bullet hit his arm and he went down for an instant. The vampire who shot him was at his throat and Mick struggled to get him off. Josef's team heard the fight and were in the room quickly. James came to Mick and with a flash of a blade the attacker's head was gone.

Josef was still struggling with Raffray, who threw him into a table. Mick started to go to his aid, but a gun coughed and there were more bullets flying through the room. From the pain in his useless arm, Mick knew they were silver and dived to the floor. James was near the shooter, jumping on him and staking him.

Mick glanced around at what was left of the destroyed room and saw that James and his team had either killed or subdued all the opposing vampires. Now they turned to see Raffray tear into Josef with bloody fangs as Josef lay prone on the floor. Josef pushed him off long enough to reach into his sleeve and extract a stake. When Raffray lunged again, Josef sat up quickly and jammed the stake, surprising Raffray as the paralysis immobilized him.

Raffray slumped on the floor, and Josef turned him over on his back. His eyes stared up into the room, and Josef bent over him. "It didn't have to be this way …"

"Yes, it did." Raffray gasped weakly. He closed his eyes and Josef got up, raking his hand through his hair. Josef wouldn't leave his old partner to the mercy of the Cleaners. He deserved more than that. He beckoned to Mick, who handed Josef the silvered machete without a word. With precision, Josef dispatched Raffray, then handed the weapon back. The others on the team were checking the room and calling the Cleaners. For the first time, he noticed Mick was hurt.

"Hey buddy, thought you were the vampire ninja warrior here." Josef said wryly.

Mick nursed his arm as James helped him out of his coat. He knew Josef was deflecting the sorrow he felt at having to kill an old friend, even with all the damage he'd caused. "Yeah, I can see you didn't escape either." Mick indicated the rapidly-healing fang marks on Josef's neck and shoulders. "Simone won't be happy to see those."

Josef shrugged. "I'll just change my clothes and she won't know a thing. You'd better come up with a story for Beth."

Mick shook his head. "Can't hide this, she'll get it out of me one way or another."

Josef rolled his eyes. "Great. You tell Beth everything and she'll tell Simone and we'll both be in the shithouse."

By now James had finished removing the silver bullet from Mick's arm and another had brought them all some blood. Mick and Josef walked toward the door, with Josef telling James to handle the Cleaners and then let the team go for the night.

They both enjoyed the chill night air of the canyon. Josef sighed and said, "I guess I'd better call Simone and you need to call Beth."

Mick eyed Josef. "I'd say we're both pretty whipped, wouldn't you?"

Josef grinned back. "Yeah, but if you tell anyone I'll have to kill you."

xxxxxxxxx

Eddie drove back up the canyon, satisfied that the boss's instructions were carried out. He got to the gate and saw it was open. _This__isn__'__t__good._ He parked a way up the road and vaulted the fence in an inconspicuous spot. He made his way to the house and noted several vans parked out front. He crept to a window and peered in. Inside were several women in black that he recognized as Cleaners, as well as some other men. On the floor were bodies and he listened as they talked. He realized that it was Raffray, Tommy, Al and his two helpers. He growled softly to himself in rage. _They__were__all__dead!_ It must have been Kostan.

He was angry—all their planning with the blood suppliers and taking care of Kostan was finished. Eddie knew he was in danger. If they found him…. but wait. He could finish what Raffray started, he could get Kostan's human and kill her. There would be no need for Raffray's elaborate plan. He could just grab her and his boss's revenge would still work.

Eddie melted into the darkness. Raffray had another safe house in Culver City where he could stay until he was able to finish what they started.

TBC

_**Not quite done with the bad guy, but getting closer. Thanks for reading!**_


	16. Chapter 16

_**Now the ladies get to help the guys. Sorry for the delay in posting, I have a new laptop (yea!) and I've been getting it set up. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!**_

Chapter 16

After Josef dropped off Mick, he headed for the house. He called Simone and she was home waiting for him. The security team stayed behind at Raffray's house so Josef entered the mansion alone. Simone heard him and raced to the front door, throwing herself into his arms.

"Hey, baby." Josef buried his face into her hair, smelling the soft floral scent.

"Are you all right?" She asked, holding him tight.

Josef smiled tiredly. Simone led him to the lounge where she poured him a single malt, knowing he had fed earlier. He tossed back the drink. "Thanks."

They sat on the sofa and Simone snuggled into him. He felt her warmth and heard the blood pumping under her skin. For the first time that night he relaxed.

Finally, Simone spoke. "Was it bad?" She asked, not commenting about his disheveled suit stained with blood.

Josef sighed. "Yeah. I found him, but he wouldn't back off." Josef detailed all that happened and Simone listened silently. Just being with Simone, knowing she understood lightened his heart.

Simone knew that Josef felt guilty at having to kill an old friend. "Josef, don't blame yourself. Look what he did—he put the community in danger and open to possible exposure to humans. He was out of control."

Josef nodded mutely and got another drink. "It such a damned waste. Raffray was a brilliant businessman; he could have used his talents for better things."

"What will happen to his businesses and money?"

Josef ran a hand through his hair. "I have to call Emmaline in New York and tell her. Then it's up to the new Elder in Seattle. Rider traced Raffray's accounts to Seattle and Vancouver. They'll be confiscated and used for reparations up there and the rest will go into The Fund. Probably the blood supply stores will be given to different owners that won't gouge the community."

She sighed, "I'm just glad it's over." Simone had been studying vampire customs and was amazed at how interwoven vampire culture was with finances, traditions and bloodlines. As a closed society, they needed to rely on each other for protection and survival. Compared to humans, vampires were few and she knew it hurt Josef to lose a member of the tribe.

Before Josef sat down again, she pulled off his suit jacket with a frown. "It looks like you didn't get off free tonight." She said, pointing out his blood-stained shredded jacket and shirt.

"It's not so bad. Mick took a bullet."

"Is he all right?" Simone asked, concerned.

"Yeah, it was just in his arm and he's fine now."

Taking off his tie, then shirt, he showed her. "See, all healed. Or was this just a ploy to get me out my clothes."

Simone gave him a wicked smile. "Maybe. With you being so busy I have to take every opportunity I can." She put her arms around his neck, kissing him. He growled softly, pressing into her mouth with intensity, all tiredness gone. He loved the feel of her and determined he would spend the rest of the night showing her how much.

xxxxxxxxx

It was late when Beth entered the hallway to the loft. Mick had called her earlier and assured her all was well. Something in his voice sounded off, but until she saw him she wouldn't know for sure. The meeting with Guillermo and the designers was dragging on so she finally excused herself with the promise that she would get all the details later. As she got near the door she could scent blood, and she quickly pushed the remote and rushed into the apartment. She saw Mick at the sink washing something. His shirt was bloodied as well as his duster which was draped over the counter.

"Mick are you okay?" She grabbed him, turning him around checking for damage as the water ran in the sink. His bright grin eased her fears.

"I'm fine, sweetheart." He bent to kiss her on the cheek.

"Oh, where's all this blood from?"

He turned off the faucet, grabbing a towel to dry his machete. "From the other guys." He said with a shrug. Beth looked at him skeptically, pointing to his torn shirt sleeve.

"What's that?"

"Um, just a scratch." He nonchalantly poured them each some bourbon.

"So what happened?" Beth questioned.

"It wasn't pretty." Mick responded, taking a swig of his drink. He told her about the tip Josef received and the swift trip up the canyon. "Raffray wouldn't listen to Josef and attacked him." Mick shook his head. "There were a few of his guys there and I got hit with silver in my arm."

Beth checked again to make sure he was healed, and then leaned against him, content. "I'm glad it wasn't any worse. At least we won't have to worry about anyone's safety after this."

He put his arm around her to prove he was fine. "I still want security at the stores during construction. I'm sure Josef will, too. We don't need anymore publicity."

Beth nodded, "I ran out on the meeting tonight. This store seems to be more trouble than the first one."

"You'll get it worked out." Mick smiled. He nuzzled her hair. "Now that this is over, how about we take a drive up the coast tomorrow night?"

Beth turned her sparkling eyes on him. "I'd love to. We could have a midnight picnic—"

Mick pulled her on his lap, kissing her soundly. "We haven't been able to train for a while. I was thinking we could work on your hand-to-hand skills."

Beth pouted for a moment, then smiled enticingly. "Hand-to-hand? Like this?" She expertly ran her fingers down his chest to his belt, then lower until she felt him shift and harden beneath her.

"Uh, something like that." He responded, distracted.

"Like I said, we could have a picnic." She giggled, leaving little kisses along his jaw.

"Mmmmm. We could go skinny dipping. But after we practice." Mick insisted.

"Fine." Beth purred. "Now I think you need a nice bath."

"Sounds good to me." Mick stood up, holding Beth in his arms, "Will you join me?"

Beth laughed as he carried her upstairs.

xxxxxxxxx

Sofia pulled the papers out of the copy machine and headed back to her cubicle. She passed Ben's office and glanced in. He was hunched over his desk, tie askew and looking like he hadn't slept in days.

She sighed to herself. She'd have to talk to him, even though she didn't want to get involved in his personal life. Unfortunately, she had been drawn into it because of Ewan. She'd never seen her gentle vampire so upset. Ewan had been livid when he heard what Ben had done and how devastated Megan was.

Sofia checked the court calendar and determined there were no big cases for at least two weeks so Ben shouldn't be that busy. She squared her shoulders and prepared to tackle him as she opened the door to his office quietly.

Ben didn't look up from his desk. "Don't have any time right now, come back later." He said brusquely.

"No, Ben. Later won't do." Sofia responded, sitting down determinedly in a chair opposite.

He glared at her with bloodshot eyes. "What?"

"You need to talk to Megan."

Ben stopped her with a look of annoyance. "Keep out of this, Sofia."

Losing patience, Sofia stood and put both hands on his desk, leaning into him. "I am in this, Ben. I'm with Ewan and he's Megan's brother. Megan and I were barely able to keep him from kicking your sorry ass." She sat back down, crossing her arms and scowling at him.

Ben sat back and rubbed his neck, trying to relieve some of the tension. He'd never seen Sofia angry and it surprised him. "It's still none of your business."

Sofia stirred irritably. "Quit being an idiot, Ben. Megan may be a vampire, but she's still a woman. You treated her like dirt and threw her away like last week's garbage." Sofia reigned in her voice, realizing she was almost yelling.

Ben continued to sit back, and closed his eyes. She saw he looked haggard but he needed to hear what she had to say. He sighed and said, "I don't know who I am anymore. I stumbled across vampires and got involved with Megan. Everything I knew and believed in has been turned upside down."

"Ben, we've talked about the vampire stuff, and I've shared as much as I know. You can always talk to me. What's wrong? What happened?"

Taking a deep breath, he sat up straighter and looked at her. He didn't want her to know about his weakness when Wilson was killed, so he said, "Some things involving the vampires made me rethink who I am and where I'm going."

"Is that a bad thing?" Sofia inquired.

Ben shrugged. "I don't know, I haven't figured it out yet."

"Well, even if you haven't figured it out, you need to talk to Megan. She doesn't deserve to be treated like this. Tell her what you're thinking, then at least she'll know it isn't something she's done."

Ben looked at her sharply. "What? She didn't do anything."

"And how is she supposed to know that, since you didn't talk to her, you just left." Sofia said frowning at him again.

He put his elbows on his desk and dropped his head into his hands. God, he messed everything up big time. He knew his abrupt decision was cowardly, but he didn't think she would blame herself. Lifting his head he said, "You're right I'll talk to her, none of this is her fault."

Now Sofia said in a kinder voice, "Why don't you go home and get some rest. Just because you're the boss doesn't mean you can't take some personal time."

Ben realized how tired he was and the thought of down time was enticing. He was no good to anyone in his current state.

"Thanks, Sofia." He said with the first genuine smile he'd had in days.

She smiled back. "Just take care of Megan. Ewan is worried about her and I don't like an unhappy vampire."

It was later that evening when Ben found himself at Megan's door. He didn't call her, fearing she wouldn't want to talk to him. He'd tried to rest at home but the more he thought about it, the worse his actions seemed. He knew he couldn't stand here forever, that Megan would be able to smell him at the door. With a grimace, he knocked.

Megan was on the other side of the door, biting her lower lip in worry. Was she ready to see Ben? She opened the door and saw how haggard he looked. His eyes sought hers out and then looked down. She felt his embarrassment, guilt and pain. "Come in, Ben." She stood aside to let him enter.

He walked into the familiar room, and looked down at his empty hands. _Crap,__he__should__have__brought__flowers_. Megan gestured for him to sit and he thought, _damn__vampires,__they__can__sense__what__humans__feel,__but__I__can__'__t__tell__a__thing__about__what__she__'__s__thinking_. He knew he had to say something as Megan sat looking at him.

He started. "Megan, I'm sorry about what I did. None of this is your fault. I came to a realization and it's been hard to sort out." He looked down again. After all he'd done, Megan deserved the truth.

She sat, looking at him with veiled eyes. "Go ahead, Ben." Her voice was neutral and she held herself stiffly as if preparing for a blow.

He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. "When Wilson died, I was relieved. He was dead and couldn't hurt anyone ever again. I was happy those guys ripped him apart. Then I started to think it would be a good thing if all the vermin that got away with crimes could be taken out." He faltered a moment. "I saw a side of myself I wasn't proud of."

Ben got up and walked to the window, not seeing the view. He turned to Megan again. "I've always done things by the book and sworn to uphold the law. Not vigilante justice like that. I was ashamed of myself. I needed to try to work things out in my mind—it wasn't you or anything you did. I'm sorry."

Megan listened without a word, and now relief washed over her. She'd thought Ben was disgusted with what occurred with Wilson and fed up with the vampire world. It happened all the time with human/vampire relationships so she was almost expecting it. She'd never been involved with a human and this was untried ground for her. His words released her from the pain that had threatened to consume her.

She moved closer to him, taking his hand. "I understand, Ben. Don't you think vampires haven't had the same feelings over the millennia? We see all the evil that humans can do, and it's tempting to take over and play god." She shook her head. "The ones that do find that power corrupts and it never turns out well. Some vampires are like Mick, and try to help where they can. It's a seductive thing to know you are more powerful than any other being."

Ben clasped both her hands, relieved she understood. "I felt like everything I believed in was turned upside down. It was never about my feelings for you. Can you forgive me for being such a jerk?"

She pulled away from him gently. "Yes," Megan responded with a small smile, "But we need to be able to talk things out between us and you have to promise not to shut me out like that again."

"I didn't mean to, but I guess I did." Ben smiled ruefully. "I won't do that again I promise."

They sat closer together and she put her cool hand on his cheek. "You said you still hadn't figured things out. Do you need more time?"

Ben felt her near and contentment flowed through him. He had missed her so much and now he couldn't bear to be away from her again. "I'll figure things out as we go along." He said, softly kissing her. "All I know is I want to be with you—" His words were stopped by Megan returning his kiss, winding her hands into his hair, drawing him closer.

"Then that's all we need to talk about for now." She smiled.

xxxxxxxxx

It was late afternoon on a clear day, but at street level it was almost dark in downtown Los Angeles. Business people streamed out of their offices for the daily rush hour migration. There were so many people trying to get out of the building, Simone had to wait her turn to enter the revolving doors to the outside. Finally out in the warm air, she settled her bag on her shoulder and started toward her parked car. She had just finished a meeting with the owners of an investment firm Josef was buying and she was happy she could tell him the deal was solid. She knew Josef was free for the evening; she wanted some quality time with her vampire fiancé.

She'd spent a few minutes with Josef earlier in the afternoon, and he told her that Natalya had finally been un-staked and given blood to recover before flying out on his jet. Simone thought sending her on Josef's plane was too good for her, but Josef just wanted Natalya out of his city. Simone smirked to herself and imagined Beth would be happy about that too.

Simone walked faster; sorry she had to park so far from the investment firm's office. Her briefcase and handbag were getting heavier by the minute and she paused near an alley to adjust her hold on them. Glancing over, she saw a parked car in the alley and a man rummaging in the open trunk. She started walking again when the man turned and moved toward her with blurring speed. She didn't have time to react when he grabbed her. She was shoved into the trunk of the car and hit her head on something hard. Before she lost consciousness, the lid of the trunk slammed down leaving her in darkness.

TBC

_**Simone's in trouble, will Josef be able to help her in time? **_


	17. Chapter 17

_**Hope I didn't leave Simone's fate hanging too long. Thanks for all your comments~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**_

Chapter 17

Simone woke and took in her surroundings slowly, her head still pounding. It was a basement, in what looked like an older home, maybe in one of the old LA neighborhoods. She was lying on a bed, handcuffed to a pipe coming out of the wall.

The man, no she was sure he was a vampire, came closer to her. Simone knew she couldn't show any fear, so she regulated her breathing, sat up and put on a mask of calm. "What do you want?" She said in as commanding a voice as she could muster.

The vampire stopped short and frowned at her, thinking he could have driven out to a deserted road, killed her and dumped the body. But the boss was going to bring her to the Culver City house, so that's what Eddie did. Now he answered her, "I'm going to kill you."

Terror rippled through her, but Simone maintained her stoic face. "Why? Who are you?"

"Kostan killed my boss and my crew. I wasn't there, but I know it was him. Now I'll kill you like the boss had planned."

Simone sat very still. One flicker of weakness, the smallest gesture suggesting fear or panic on her part was all it would have taken in that moment for him to kill her where she sat. Keeping her voice steady, she said. "What's your name?"

The vampire frowned again. He expected the human to be afraid and screaming, and then he could kill her without qualms. She confused him. "Um, my name is Eddie." He finally said.

Simone smiled a little, trying to relax him. "Look, Eddie, I'm sorry about your boss, but why come after me?"

Eddie looked bewildered again. "Uh, I don't know but that was the boss's plan. You belong to Kostan and the boss wanted to hurt him."

"And then what?" Simone asked, remembering to breathe.

"What?"

"Did he tell you the plan after I was dead?"

Eddie started to pace. He wasn't stupid but he wasn't a strategist. Raffray always told him what to do and when to do it. He'd followed the girl and picked her up, which was the plan. He didn't know what they were going to do after the girl was dead.

Simone saw he was off balance. "Do you have anywhere to go? Any money?"

"Yeah, some." He said defensively. "I'm going back up north."

"If you mean Seattle, you won't find anything of Raffray's left up there." Simone stated shrewdly. "They know about him and have taken all his accounts and property."

Eddie was stunned. He had access to a bank account there for travel and other expenses. He figured he would use that to move and get a fresh start. Now there was only the small amount he had squirreled away on his own.

Simone took a deep breath. She had to do this and only had one chance. "I can help you if you want to get away."

He looked at her caustically. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I don't want to die. If you let me go, I'll make sure you have all the money you need and safe passage out of the city. Josef Kostan is wealthy and would pay to have me back."

Sitting on a broken chair, Eddie thought about what the woman said. If he could get some money, he could go to Alaska like he always planned.

Simone could see him thinking about her offer. "Why not take care of yourself, Eddie, your boss is gone and can't help you."

He frowned at her. "What's to stop Kostan from coming after me? I saw what he did to my guys at the house." Simone could hear his hostility.

"Josef tried to talk to your boss, but he attacked him. He didn't want to kill Raffray, but he had no choice. I promise that he won't hurt you or go after you."

The vampire could tell she was sincere, but he didn't know if he could trust her or Kostan.

Simone knew she had to press him. "Let me call Josef. He can be here in two hours with the money. Then you can go and start living for yourself." She knew Josef was at home, waiting for her.

Eddied paced up and down for a few minutes, mumbling. Simone kept quiet, hoping her words had convinced him. Finally, he came over to her, his eyes silvered and fangs elongated. "All right, you can call. But no tricks and he needs to come alone. I'm going to be right next to you and if he tries anything, I'll kill you in a second. I want a hundred thousand—no, a quarter mill."

Simone nodded calmly. "Give me my phone. He'll answer faster if he sees it's my number."

The vampire rummaged in Simone's large handbag and found her cell phone. Standing over her, he gave it to her and watched as she turned it on. She noted she had four missed messages from Josef. She pressed the number for Josef's private line.

"Hey, baby." Josef answered. "Where are you? I've been—"

"Josef, listen to me." Simone interrupted in a deadly quiet voice. "I need you to do exactly as I say, immediately."

On the other end, Josef tensed and knew there was something seriously wrong. "Simone, are you all right?" He asked, worried.

"Yes, I'm fine." Simone glanced up at the vampire hovering over her. "I need you to get cash, $250,000, and bring it to me. Come alone; don't bring any of the guys. Give me your word you'll come alone." She knew the vampire could hear both sides of the conversation.

"I'll come alone. Just hang tight, baby." Josef tried to reassure her, even though he didn't feel it himself.

Eddie grabbed the phone from Simone. "Kostan," he growled. "You killed my boss so if you try any tricks, I'll cut her throat and she'll die in a minute. Bring the money to 231 La Salle in Culver City. Then you can have the lady back. You got two hours." He hung up and crushed the phone in his fist.

Josef had gone cold when he heard Simone's voice and then the man demanding money. He sat very still for a moment and gathered his thoughts. He didn't dare think of anything happening to Simone, it clouded his judgment. He went to the house phone in the lounge and called James, his head of security.

James came into the room quickly, "Yes, boss?" He could tell Josef was disturbed.

"Can you plant a tracer in a briefcase right now?" Josef asked.

"Sure, we have some downstairs."

Josef pulled out a leather briefcase from a closet, opening it and checking the inside. He snapped it shut again and handed it to James. "Make sure the tracer can't be detected."

"Yes, boss. What's going on?" James asked. He had never seen Josef this distraught.

"Simone's been kidnapped." He said shortly. "I have to take the money right now."

James growled a little. The staff liked Simone. She treated them well and made the boss happy. "Do you need us for backup?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Follow my car way back and park a couple of blocks away. I think it's a vampire and he could tell if there was anyone else around. I don't know where he has Simone and I can't risk her being hurt."

"Right, boss."

"Get this case fixed and bring it back right away." Josef said.

James nodded and was out the door in a moment. Josef crossed the hall to his home office and touched a hidden switch under his desk. Behind him, a framed Jackson Pollock painting slid sideways revealing a wall safe. Josef twisted the dial and it soon popped open. He was glad he kept a good amount of cash at the house. _You__never__know__when__you__might__need__it_, he thought grimly. He counted out the stacks into the quarter million dollars that Simone's captor requested. His eyes glowed silver when he thought about ripping the bastard limb from limb.

James returned with the briefcase, showing Josef where the small GPS chip had been inserted. It was unnoticeable and Josef packed the cash inside. He closed it and pulled on a leather jacket, then grabbed a Glock with silver loads and slid it into the back of his jeans, covering it with the jacket. He wasn't foolish enough to go in unarmed.

He nodded at James who was clearly concerned about his boss going to the meeting on his own. He gave James the address and they both typed it into the GPS on their phones. "I'm leaving now." Josef said as he headed for the garage. He knew James and a crew would be following soon.

As Josef drove, he called Mick.

"Hey, Josef." Mick answered, sounding in a good mood.

"Mick, Simone's been taken." Josef said without preamble. He explained the phone call and that he was on his way with the ransom. "Where are you? Can you meet me?"

Mick swore to himself. He and Beth were in the Benz driving up the coast. "I'm about an hour north of the city. Where are you going?"

"Culver City, but you can't make it in time. Can you get to my house? I might need you there later….."

"Sure, we'll be there as soon as we can." Mick hung up, knowing if Josef didn't get Simone out alive, they had to be there for him.

Josef found the house but parked several doors down. He took the case filled with money. He thought about trying to breach the house from the back and surprise the thug, but he was hampered by Simone's presence. He didn't want to do anything that might endanger her. He saw there were lights on in the basement as well as the front room. It looked like he would have to risk a trap or an ambush. Getting out of the car, he pulled the semi-automatic from his waistband and took off the safety. Tucking it back, he edged up to the front door. He could smell vampire and he heard a heartbeat so he knew Simone was alive. His relief was palpable and he knocked on the door.

Inside the house, Eddie tensed at the scent of Josef. He had Simone sitting in a chair directly in line with the front door. Her hands were tied on her lap with thin but strong ropes, and Eddie had a knife to her neck. She was very still, ready for anything.

"Come in, Kostan." Eddie said loudly, knowing that Josef would hear. The door was unlocked and Josef entered, his eyes falling on Simone. She gave him a wan smile and rolled her eyes up to her captor. Josef growled, seeing the knife at Simone's throat.

"Did you bring the money?" Eddie said roughly. Sensing Josef's anger, he said, "Don't try anything. One slip and she'll bleed out."

"Let her go." Josef snarled. "You can have the money."

Eddie smiled maliciously. "Yeah, then you'll kill me. No way. Slide the case across the floor to me."

Both vampires' eyes flashed crystal and Josef growled as he put the briefcase on the floor. "How do I know you won't kill her anyway?"

"Because I'll take a blood oath not to hurt her." Eddie felt very clever having thought of the ancient pledge. Simone looked surprised, having heard of the blood oath which had been used in earlier times to stop feuds between vampire clans. Eddie continued, "I'll make the oath if you take one not to follow me or tell anyone to follow me."

Josef's face resumed its human form and he looked at Simone, who nodded at him in encouragement. "Very well, I swear a blood oath not to follow you or ask anyone else to follow you."

"And I swear not to kill this woman." Eddie grinned triumphantly as Josef pushed the briefcase across the room with his foot. Eddie made no move to pick it up, instead started to squeeze Simone's neck, restricting the blood flow. After a few seconds, Simone blacked out and slumped off the chair. Josef was beside her, catching her as Eddie grabbed the case and fled at vampire speed out the back door of the house.

"Simone!" Josef said anxiously. "Baby, wake up. Can you hear me? He could hear her heartbeat strongly, and could scent she had no bites or injuries. She gasped a little, and then opened her eyes. "Josef." She breathed, trying to reorient herself.

"Wait." He said, pulling a knife out of his jeans and cutting her restraints. Free, she put her arms around him frantically, trying to get as close as possible. All the terror of the past hours hit her and she couldn't stop shaking. Josef held her close, murmuring softly as his own terror receded. He'd almost lost her. All the advice he'd given to Mick about dating a human came rolling back to him. He'd told Mick that he couldn't sit on the fence; he had to bring Beth into the vampire world or let her go. It was too dangerous for a human to be exposed with no protection. Josef had shied away from the idea of turning Simone because of Sarah, but after tonight he needed to think again. But that would be later. Now he had to make sure she was all right.

He brushed Simone's hair off her face. She opened her eyes. "Josef, take me home." She sighed. He kissed her quickly and pulled out his phone.

James answered on the first ring. "Yes, Josef."

"I have Simone and she's all right. Can you get one of the guys to drive my car? You can take us back to the house."

"Sure boss. What about the vamp?"

Josef's eyes narrowed. He would have loved to take apart that viper for touching Simone. "We'll worry about that when we get back." He responded.

Josef picked up Simone and carried her out the front door. A black SUV pulled up and he helped her into the back. James had ordered one of the team to check out the house and make sure there was nothing incriminating left and then bring Josef's car home when he was done.

By the time they reached the house, Simone had recovered a bit and was smiling and kissing Josef as she told him what happened. Josef was proud of her strength that allowed her to talk the vampire out of killing her. They entered to a very worried Mick and Beth. Beth swooped in to hug Simone, and help her to sit down. Josef gave her some water, then a strong drink. He told them about Simone's capture and release.

Mick's expression hardened. "You let the guy get away?"

Josef shrugged. "I took a blood oath that I wouldn't follow him or ask anyone to follow him. It's too bad, because he'd be easy to find with Rider tracking the GPS tag planted with the money." Josef looked meaningfully at Mick and their eyes met with perfect understanding.

Beth was sitting with Simone and watched the byplay, suddenly realize that Mick was going after the kidnapper. "Mick—" she started. He gave her a look and whatever she was going to say died on her lips. This was not something he was going to give way on.

Mick turned to Josef. "I'm going to borrow one of your cars for an errand. Could you see Beth gets home?"

"Sure, buddy." Josef replied, his eyes on Simone.

Mick smiled softly at Beth. "C'mon honey, walk me to the car."

Beth let go of Simone, confident she would be all right with Josef. Mick put his arm around Beth and they walked to Josef's large garage. One of the security guys was there, and Mick told him what he wanted. The guard scurried off to gather the items.

Mick turned Beth in his arms. His mind went back to the night they were taken and Beth was turned. His fear for Beth that night translated into anger at what had happened to Simone and he was going to see the thug didn't get away with it. He hugged Beth, and said, "Go on home, sweetheart. I'll be fine."

Beth hugged him back and said into his shirt, "You'd better be. You still owe me a training session. Call me, okay?" Beth knew this was something Mick had to do but it didn't stop her from worrying.

She kissed him gently, and watched as the security guards loaded the SUV with weapons, blood and a medical kit, which hopefully, he wouldn't need. "I'll see you when you get back. Be careful."

Mick gave her that small smile she loved so much as he got into the car and drove out of the garage. She sighed and turned away. James came up to her saying, "Ms. Turner, Mr. Kostan sends his compliments and asked me to drive you home. He and Miss Simone have retired for the evening. He knows you will understand. We'll keep Mr. St. John's car until he returns."

Beth smiled. "Of course." She knew that Simone would need to be with Josef more that her. It was early by vampire standards, but Beth was tired and needed some blood. James led the way to a dark Mercedes and they left for the loft.

Mick drove with purpose now that he was alone. He was focused on getting the bastard that caused his friends so much pain. Checking the GPS screen, he saw that the tracker was moving north slowly. Mick grimaced. _This__guy__thinks__he__'__s__home__free._ Mick flipped open his cell phone and made a call.

"_Yeah,__Mick.__What__'__s__up?__"_ Guillermo's voice came on the line.

"How'd you like to help me do some hunting tonight?" Mick asked in a grim voice.

Guillermo was all attention, pleased that Mick would ask him. "_What__do__you__need?__"_

"I could use a navigator, and I think you'd enjoy this one. Where are you?"

"_I'm at home, but I can meet you." _

Mick checked the GPS again. The tracer seemed to have stopped_.__Good._

"I'll pick you up and fill you in on the way."

"_Fine,__I__'__ll__be__ready.__"_ Guillermo hung up.

Mick turned the car toward the city, determined the kidnapper would pay before dawn chased away the night.

TBC

_**Next, Beth has some thoughts and so do Josef and Simone. Thanks to all who read and revirew!**_


	18. Chapter 18

_**Finally, some vampire justice! Josef and Simone have a talk and Beth reflects on the previous year. This is the last chapter, and thank you for reading~~~~~**_

Chapter 18

The roads were crowded and Mick maneuvered through them gracefully. Guillermo was in the passenger's seat with the GPS, navigating for them. Guillermo was pleased that Mick wanted his help; it had been a while since he'd done any tracking. Mick filled him in on all that had happened and he was irate that Simone had been threatened by the same scum that blew up his store. He looked forward to payback. The GPS beeped.

"Hey, Mick, he's stopped up ahead." Guillermo stated, looking at the street signs. Mick pulled over into an alley. "How far away is he?" Mick asked, peering at the small screen.

"It looks like about two blocks and around a corner." They got out of the car, drawing on gloves, getting out stakes and semi-automatic handguns with silver loads. They were hoping to catch the vampire by surprise and take him down. Mick moved stealthily up the street of closed storefronts with Guillermo following, making sure they were undetected.

Around the corner, they spotted an older model sedan. It was parked in front of a small store that still had lights shining from the front window. Mick frowned. "What street is this?"

"Uh, it's South Weston."

"Thought I recognized the address. It's a blood supplier. Maybe our guy stopped for blood."

Guillermo grinned sharply. "Good. It'll be the last stop he makes."

"Let's take him while he's inside. That way it'll be less public and we can keep it from the humans."

"What if there's anyone with him?"

Mick's eyes narrowed. "They'll cooperate."

Guillermo went to the back of the store and Mick was at the front door. He heard Guillermo crash in at the back, distracting the occupants of the store as Mick came in the front. There were three vampires inside, two males and a female. With eyes silvered and fangs out, Mick and Guillermo advanced on them from two different directions.

"Wait," the woman cried, "what do you want?" She was a young vamp, and clearly terrified.

"We want Eddie." Mick growled, waiting to see which of the males would give himself away. One of the vamps, a stocky blond, looked around for a way out, and ran toward the back of the store. There was clatter and Guillermo pushed the blond forward, clicking on silver handcuffs that made the bound vampire roar with pain.

"Eddie, I presume." Mick snarled with fangs extended.

The blond vamp was frightened. He didn't know who these vampires were, and he appealed to the two who owned the store.

"Hey, you gotta help me, these guys are crazy." He said wildly.

Guillermo pushed Eddie down on the floor, pointing his gun. The male store owner tried to take control of the situation. "What's going on, what's this guy done?"

Mick turned to them. "He's a criminal. He kidnapped Josef Kostan's fiancée and bombed some buildings."

The owners shrank away. They recently bought the store, having moved to LA from another state. They didn't want any trouble with the Elder of the city, and they'd just opened again after the lockdown.

"It would be better if you closed for the night and left." Mick continued, still vamped out. "Come back tomorrow night."

They left quickly, and Mick pulled out his phone to call the Cleaners. Giving them the address, he turned to Eddie who was still on the floor.

Eddie regained some of his composure. "Listen, you guys. I'll give you back the money and I'll disappear. You know Kostan broke a blood oath sending you after me."

Mick gave him a deadly smile. "He didn't come after you and he didn't send us."

"You had a chance to leave and you didn't take it." Guillermo chimed in. "We didn't even know about you till you grabbed Josef's fiancée. Bad move, dude." Guillermo reached into his jacket for a short sword and gave it to Mick.

With a quick slash, Eddie's head fell from his shoulders. Mick was enraged when he thought of Simone and he flashed back on when he and Beth were taken. It felt good to make sure one more threat was off the streets. "That's done." He said.

Guillermo nodded grimly. He knew Mick didn't like taking any life, but they couldn't let this vampire go, not after he'd threatened Simone, and by extension, Josef.

Two women in black leather came in warily, their guns drawn but they relaxed when they saw Mick. Stowing their weapons, one of them said, "Hey, Mick, what's going on? You rarely need a clean-up."

Mick bent over, wiping the blade on the dead vamp's chest. "We were taking out the trash for Josef. Send him the bill."

The Cleaner nodded, and called in the team. She addressed Guillermo and Mick. "Okay, you guys can go, we'll handle it and make sure it's all good. When do the occupants come back?"

"Not until tomorrow night." Guillermo responded. The Cleaner waved them off, and they went out the front. After rummaging through Eddie's car they found the case of money. Guillermo opened it, and it looked untouched. They headed for the waiting SUV and stowed their gear. Then Mick called Josef, but got no answer. He tried James instead.

"James," Mick said. "I tried Josef, but he's not answering."

"_Ah,__he__retired__with__Miss__Simone.__Do__you__need__something?__"_ James asked, slightly concerned. He knew Mick had gone after the kidnapper.

"No." Mick responded. "Just tell him everything's been taken care of."

"_I__will.__"_ He could hear the satisfaction in James' voice.

"We're driving back to the house now. Is my car still there?"

"_Yes, sir. I drove Ms. Turner home right after you left." _

"Okay, we'll be there in a while."

Mick turned to Guillermo, who was sitting next to him contemplating Eddie's destruction. At least the stores were safe now and he could get back to business.

"Can I drop you off?" Mick asked, interrupting Guillermo's thoughts.

"Sure." Guillermo smiled. "Thanks for asking me along. It was fun—and I'm glad that bastard's dead."

Mick nodded. "Yeah. We don't need any more crazies around here."

After Mick left Guillermo, he drove to Josef's dropping off the money with James and picking up the Benz. It was a few hours until dawn and he hoped Beth was still up. It had been a long night, and all he wanted now was to see Beth, to see his girl. Mick smiled as he dialed her. That's what she would always be—his girl.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Josef turned off the water in the large bathtub in Simone's suite. She spent time in his room and bed, but she had her own space in his house. He tried to call the doctor, but Simone insisted she was fine, just a little shaken up. He peeked out into the bedroom and said, "The bath's ready, babe."

Simone came out of the walk-in closet in a plum colored silk robe and Josef caught his breath at how lovely she was.

She smiled at him. He had gotten her something to eat, hovering until she shooed him away. Now he asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, Josef." She replied as she came over to sit next to him. He put his arm around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm still a little freaked out but I'll get over it."

Josef frowned. "From now on, you have a security guard with you when you leave the office."

She rolled her eyes. She wasn't going to put up with being followed around everywhere she went, but she didn't want to start that battle now. Plenty of time for that later.

"There was something I wanted to talk to you about, Simone." Josef shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, I know we've never discussed it, but I was wondering….I mean if you'd want to…if you've ever thought about joining me, uh being turned?"

Simone's eyes became huge and she looked at him with disbelief. "You want to turn me?"

"If you want me to." He said hesitantly. It was a delicate subject, which was one of the reasons they hadn't really talked about it since her return from Canada. When she didn't respond right away, he asked worriedly, "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Yes, Josef. But I didn't think you wanted to….it's just a surprise, that's all."

Josef looked relieved and blurted, "I just want you to be safe and if you're a vamp, you won't be as vulnerable."

Simone's excitement drained from her. She dropped her head in disappointment, then looked at him. "Josef, I don't want you to do this because you're afraid for me." He started to protest, and she put her fingertips over his mouth. "I want to be turned, but only when you're ready for that kind of commitment."

"But…" Josef stopped, realizing her point. Where was this idea coming from? He hadn't thought about turning Simone until she was in danger. Was he ready for that kind of responsibility? "You may be right." he commented ruefully.

Simone gave him a small smile and wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's all right, baby. We'll know when it's time. Besides, we still have a wedding to plan."

Josef grinned and pulled onto his lap. She always knew what he was thinking and feeling. Simone whimpered when he started kissing her neck, wanting her blood. He hadn't planned on biting her tonight, but he needed the reassurance of their connection. Simone felt his hunger and adjusted toward him. "Go on, Josef," she whispered, "I want you." She sighed in contentment as his fangs punctured her delicate skin, drawing out her pleasure.

She felt him harden under her, and she suddenly wasn't tired anymore. He only drank for a few moments and licked away the droplets, closing the wound. She kissed his neck in return, nibbling his ear. "Take me to bed." She whispered again.

Josef smirked, and said. "First you need to relax. I think the bathwater's cold, but you could take a shower."

Simone giggled. "That's a wonderful idea. I'll probably need some help."

"Anything you want." Josef replied in a low, sexy voice, carrying her to the marble bathroom.

xxxxxxxxxx

There was a small light on in the kitchen when Beth returned to the loft. She mixed herself a vodka and blood, a real Bloody Mary, she smiled to herself. She was worried about Mick, but knew he could take care of himself. _He__'__d__better__call._

She went out to the balcony to watch the night sky, sipping her drink. It had been almost a year since she was turned and she looked back on the time with amazement. She had been so busy learning to be a vampire, her new job, and then the blood supply project that she rarely took time for herself. When she did have free time she preferred to spend it with Mick in various exciting ways. Beth shivered at the thought, feeling the heat pooling in her belly. All she had to do was think of him and it got her mind and body off track.

Enjoying the cool air, she remembered the time she'd taken the Black Crystal and walked to Mick's to 'feel the night.' She had no idea then that being a vampire would be more intense than the drug ever was. She didn't regret her decision and was happy Mick accepted it, too. Beth was determined not to lose touch with humanity, even if she wasn't human—she agreed with Mick on that point. She no longer felt guilty about Josh or his death, just regret that his life was lost. She had loved him once, just not with the intense connection she shared with Mick.

Many months ago, Ewan asked her if she wanted to be a vampire. Not for anyone, but for herself. She didn't have an answer then but now she felt at home being a vampire. She loved her enhanced senses and strength and knowing she had all the time in the world to be with Mick and do anything she wanted. At some point they would have to leave LA and change identities but she hoped that would be far in the future.

Her life had taken a direction she would never have thought of and she was sure there would be challenges, even with Mick, but their bond would see them through any difficulties. It was her life now and she was content.

Beth heard her phone ring and saw it was Mick. She smiled, hoping he was coming home soon.

The End

_**Thanks again to all of you who have read and followed this story! I loved writing it, and will continue this universe with another story, 'Somewhere Tonight.' I'd also like to credit the titles for my stories to the songs of the fabulous Mr. Bob Seger, from my home state of Michigan. **_


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